Yonkers, NY, October 4, 2010 -- After three years playing ball in Japan Yonkers baseball pitcher Brian Sweeney returned to the States with no Japanese or Major League Baseballcontract. In the spring of this year, Brian age 35, signed a contract to play for the Somerset Patriots in New Jersey, a high caliber independent baseball league. After two days with Somerset, Sweeney was offered a minor league contract to play for Tacoma, the top minor league team of the Seattle Mariners.While at Tacoma, Brian Sweeney had an outstanding record as a relief pitcher and was called up by the Seattle Mariners where he continued his stellar pitchingperformance with a ERA of 3.16 and a WHIP of 1.05, both of which were second only to Felix Hernandez, the CY Young candidate on the Seattle team.
While playing for Seattle this year, Brian had the experience of pitching in Yankee Stadium before his father Ed, a retired Yonkers Fire Department Lieutenant. Sweeney’s interest in baseball started with the North Yonkers Little League and continued at Stepinac High School and Mercy College. In 1996, after Mercy, and withouy being drafted, Brian pitched in a now defunct independent team and was signed by the Seattle organization making his major league debut in September 2003. In a career move, he then signed on with the Tampa organization but returned to the Seattle organization to play again with Tacoma from where he was thereafter traded to the San Diego Padres pitching for Portland. In 2006 he made the 25 man team roster of the Padres and had an impressive year but no guaranteed Major League contract at the end of the season. With a wife and two children to support Brian accepted a contract to play for the Ham Fighters in Japan with a guarantee to be a starting pitcherand Major League money where he played three years.
With a very good 2010 season as a resume, the Yonkers native should have a major league contract in 2011.
