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Rounding the Bases with Ronnie Sweeny
11/18/2019 11:00:00 AM | Baseball
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HIT & RUN
Major: considering Sport Management or Law EnforcementFavorite actor or actress: Brad Pitt or Will Ferrell Favorite athlete: David Ortiz (baseball) and Jared Allen (football) Favorite book: The Hunger Games Favorite class you're taking at the U of M: Lifetime Wellness Favorite hobby (outside of sports): fishing Favorite musical artist: Guns N' Roses, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Lil Wayne Favorite TV show: The Office Favorite professional team: Minnesota Vikings Favorite restaurant: Cossetta's in St. Paul Team you're looking forward to playing most: Texas Tech Biggest fear: spiders Biggest pet peeve: umpires Hidden talent: cutting hair Person you'd most like to meet: David Ortiz or Louis Zamperini Something you never leave home without: headphones Sport you'd like to try but never have: bobsled TEAM SUPERLATIVES
Best personality in the dugout: Ryan Duffy or Nolan Burchill Best nickname: "Centaur" (Gabe Knowles) or "Smell" (Zack Elliott) Hardest-working teammate: Chase Stanke Most competitive teammate: Sam Thoresen Most studious teammate: Bubba Horton Biggest prankster: Sam Thoresen Build the ultimate five-tool player with your teammates: Max Meyer (arm), Jack Wassel (glove), Zack Raabe (power), Sam Ireland (contact), myself (speed) |
Before arriving at the U, Sweeny made a name for himself at IWCC by garnering JBB First-Team All-American and NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American honors in 2019. Last season, he slashed .440/.536/.887 with 16 homers, 19 doubles, 70 RBI and 65 runs scored for the Reivers. He was also the 2019 ICCA Division-I Defensive Player of the Year.
The transfer did not slow down following his commitment to the U, as Sweeny steamed ahead through summer competition. Competing for the Lakeshore Chinooks of the Northwoods League, he was selected to play in the MLB Dreams Showcase as one of the premier prospects in the league. With the Chinooks, Sweeny batted .211 with four homers, five doubles, 17 runs, 20 RBI and four steals while drawing 21 walks, which matched his strikeout total (21) at the plate.
With his story in collegiate baseball still being written, all eyes will be on Sweeny this spring as he makes the transition to the Big Ten Conference.
GopherSports.com: Why did you choose to transfer to the University of Minnesota?
Sweeny: "I chose to come to the U because this is my hometown. That's a big part of it. You hear so much about the culture created by [head coach John Anderson] that it's so hard to not want to come play here. He's always got your back and he always wants what's best for you both on and off the field. He always looks at you as a person first, not just a baseball player. There's more to life than just baseball, so I like that.
GS: Was this the path you always envisioned for yourself?
Sweeny: "I have always been the guy that's going to drive the gaps and when I got to college, I didn't try to do too much and just let the game take over. I worked hard off the field as well. Working hard in the weight room was a big part. On the field, I didn't make the game bigger than it was. I just relaxed and let the ball travel wherever it was pitched."
GS: When did you first start playing baseball and how did you get involved in the sport?
Sweeny: "It's a good story, actually. When I was just able to walk, our basement wasn't finished yet. It was just a concrete floor, so my dad drew an outline of where my feet were supposed to be and he would throw McDonald's ball pit balls at me and I would try to hit them. At first, I didn't believe him when I heard that story. But then in high school when our basement flooded, we had to replace the carpet and sure enough, in the back right corner there were two little outlined feet where I was supposed to stand."
GS: What would you say is your biggest strength in your sport? What is an area of improvement for yourself?
Sweeny: "My awareness for the zone is a strength of mine. I don't chase too many pitches. I'm pretty patient and I work the counts pretty easily. There's not many times you'll see me going down striking out in three pitches. There'll usually be two or three more pitches after that before he wins the battle and that doesn't happen very often. I can also pretty accurately recognize how fast my hands are and how fast my swing is. I'm not really a complacent guy, so the obvious answer to me on what I need to improve on is everything. That's pretty tough to do, so I'll pick out a couple of things. I take pride in my defense, so I always like working on that. Also, I can always work on my discipline and my pitch recognition."
GS: Do you have any game day rituals or superstitions?
Sweeny: "I always like to be the first person in the locker room, so I'll put my phone on the aux cord and play some country or some Guns N' Roses. I usually do that for half an hour and then I'll go to the hitting facility, usually by myself, and just track pitches. My routine includes always watching The Office the night before a game, because it's a show that never gets old. It eases me up a little bit. In the on deck circle, I never swing. I try to focus more on where his pitch release is, where the slot is, what he's doing to the other left-handed batters in certain situations. I'm trying to help myself when I'm up at the plate. If he tips his pitch somehow, I'll be able to unload on it. In the box, I always step in with my right foot first and then I usually mix it up. I like to clean the dirt with my feet and then I'll dig into it in the back of the box, right on the line."
GS: What is the biggest moment of your baseball career so far?
Sweeny: "My biggest moment isn't necessarily one moment, but it's building the friendships. It's the most important part of both playing and winning college baseball games. Having the friendships and the culture is important, because at the end of the day, all of this is just memories. Without a good culture and good friendships, it doesn't mean anything and you're not going to go far in your sport or in life if you can't make friends. Going to a junior college, you get to meet 30 new people each year because you're only there for two years. You meet one set of people and then they're gone the next year and you have to meet all new people. I've met many people through my three years so far."
GS: Who has been the biggest influence on your athletic career?
Sweeny: "It's got to be my parents. I wouldn't be here without them. They sacrificed way too much for me, which I'm grateful for. I wasn't the easiest kid to raise. I was a little bit of a troublemaker and I still am a little bit. Every time I go home, I'll usually prank my mom or my dad somehow just to show them that I love them."
GS: What are your goals for this upcoming 2020 season?
Sweeny: "Since I'm a team guy, I want to answer my team goals for the season. I want us to push through a super regional. I want us to be the team that's gritty and will do whatever it takes to get to the College World Series. I'm not saying to win it right now, because that is everyone's goal, but to somehow have the Maroon and Gold in Omaha during the College World Series. I want to show that northern teams can play a little ball."
GS: Do you have any advice for aspiring youth athletes?
Sweeny: "Don't focus your attention on one sport until you get to the collegiate level. Go out and have fun while you can, make new friends and just experience different things. I wish I could have played a couple more sports growing up, but my schedule didn't allow it. Hockey and baseball was a little much."
GS: What are your aspirations for after college ball?
Sweeny: "I want to play professional baseball. If that doesn't work out, I would like to be a coach of some sort at the college level or pursue a career in law enforcement."
GS: What was it like transferring to Minnesota from a junior college?
Sweeny: "At Iowa Western, we were taken care of with meals, but we had to go buy our own batting gloves or whatever we needed. The facilities are definitely a big change as well. The technology we have here is off the charts. There's no other way to explain it; it's top-notch. The practice hours are another thing I'm not used to. We'll get done with a day of practice and I'm thinking, 'that's it?' There are no restrictions in junior college like there are here. We would be out there all day long, every day."
GS: What is it like being a Division I student-athlete?
Sweeny: "Balancing school and baseball has been a little different here than at Iowa Western, because my furthest walk in junior college was probably five minutes across campus. Here, it's a twenty minute walk. I don't usually get back to my apartment until after dinner here. I could go home after practice, but I would rather hang out in the locker room with the guys or play some video games."
GS: What are your predictions for the 2020 season?
Sweeny: "We are a World Series contending team. Everybody has bought in and I believe we have the talent to go play for a national title. Our pitching staff is going to be unbelievable. We're figuring out our hitting. From the beginning of fall to the end, we saw drastic improvements and that was only a four week span. Our freshman class is going to step in right away and tear it up. I say that because we have the leaders to guide them and show them how to handle certain situations."
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