Royals Hall of Famer Mike Sweeney on how it felt to pinch-hit — in KC’s radio booth
Mike Sweeney was leaving a youth baseball field in Huntington Beach, California, after coaching his son’s game on May 2 when his phone buzzed.
That’s not unusual for Sweeney, the Royals’ special assistant to baseball operations/leadership development. But the reason for the call was.
The entire Royals radio crew was dealing with illness and the plan was to have Triple-A broadcaster Jake Eisenberg pinch-hit as the play-by-play voice. The Royals wanted to know if Sweeney could pull away from his wife and six kids for a few days to serve as an analyst.
Sweeney placed a call to his wife, Shara, and she and the couple’s children told him to go for it.
“I had about 12 hours to pack a suitcase and get from San Diego to Kansas City and continue on to Baltimore after a short series with the Cardinals,” said Sweeney, who played for the Royals from 1995-2007. “Overall, I had a great time. But it was just a temporary joy to fill in for guys in the booth that I greatly admire and respect.”
Hall of Famer Denny Matthews, Steve Physioc and Steve Stewart all were at home and couldn’t work the two-game series against the Cardinals and a four-game set at Baltimore.
Sweeney, a member of the Royals Hall of Fame, said he felt like he had big shoes to fill.
“I felt honored and thrilled to fill in for legends like Phys and Stu and Denny,” Sweeney said. “I was excited to work alongside Jake Eisenberg, our Triple-A broadcaster, and then, of course, the Vin Scully of today’s baseball in my eyes, Ryan Lefebvre.”
Eisenberg and Sweeney called the two-game series against the Cardinals. Lefebvre worked in the radio booth for the series in Baltimore and offered Sweeney a piece of advice.
“Ryan Lefebvre said, ‘Mike, imagine that it’s just me and you sitting on a couch together watching a ballgame,’” Sweeney said. “’Let’s just act like we’re just telling some people at home what it looks like for guys like me and you to watch the game together.’ And to take that perspective was special.”
Not content simply to serve as a temporary replacement, Sweeney would ask everyone associated with the broadcast for tips on how he could improve after each game. By the time of the final game on May 9, Sweeney felt a greater comfort level than that first contest.
Sweeney wasn’t a complete novice going in. He had worked for the MLB Network as an analyst for a year after retiring in 2010. But he didn’t pursue broadcast work because his wife and kids were more important at that time of his life.
They still are. That commitment to family is why Sweeney has no desire to return to the broadcast booth again, even though fans seemed to like hearing him. But he was glad to help the Royals when they were in a bind.
“It’s like asking Travis Kelce to pinch it. He’s a football player and you’re asking him to do something that he’s never done before,” Sweeney said. “And not only that, but you’re going to pinch-hit for Salvador Perez. I was stepping into a broadcast booth for a legend and it’s something I’ve never done before.
“So I appreciate the fans and the organization showing me some grace, because all I wanted to do was make Denny and Phys and Stu proud at home that I tried to fill in for them and do a decent job to honor them.”
This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 10:59 AM.
