JockBio Vital Stats
  • Detroit Tigers
• First Baseman • #21
  • Height: 6' 4"
• Weight: 237 • Born: 7/2/74
  • Sean was named “Star of Stars” at the 1996 Class-A All-Star Game.
  • Sean’s .386 average for Akron in 1997 would have won the Eastern League batting title by 44 points, but he fell short of the minimum ABs to qualify.
  • Sean never forgets a favor. While they were Indians farmhands, Danny Graves gave him a pair of spikes. Sean still thanks him for the gift today—even though they didn’t fit.
  • Ever frugal, Sean still owns the 1995 Honda Accord he purchased with his bonus from the Indians. One year at spring training, a guard at the Reds’ Sarasota complex refused to let him into the players’ lot because he had such a ratty ride.
  • Sean hit .346 as a member of Cleveland’s minor league system. Had he remained in the minors, he could have gone 0-for-138 after 1997 and still been a .300 career hitter.
  • Sean has received the Reds’ Hutch Award, which is given to the player who personifies the spirit, courage and integrity of former manager Fred Hutchinson. Past winners include Johnny Bench, Ron Oester and Bobby Tolan.
  • In 2000, Sean chose Creed’s “Higher” as his signature song on the Cinergy Field PA system.
  • When President Bush visited the Reds clubhouse at the opening of Miller Park in 2001, Sean brought two disposable cameras and became the unofficial official photographer, posing his teammates with the chief executive.
  • Sean’s average at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium is under .200. He believes he had a mental block about playing in the park he visited so many times as a kid.
  • Though Sean left the University of Richmond after his junior year, he returned in the off-season to earn a degree in Speech and Communications.
  • Sean was part of the famous Class of ’98. Among the players to break into the big leagues that year were future stars Miguel Tejada, Adrian Beltre, Magglio Ordonez, Geoff Jenkins, Juan Encarnacion, Paul Konerko, Jason Varitek, Russ Ortiz and Matt Mantei.
  • Sean'a wife’s name is Mandi. Their third child, Carli, was born in November of 2005.
  • Many teammates don’t like to go out to dinner with Sean, because he not only signs autographs while he’s dining, he’ll stop eating and chat with fans at the table.
  • In 1999, Sports Illustrated ran a profile on Sean entitled “The Say-Hello Kid.”
  • Sean is one of only two players to hit the Budweiser sign high on the centerfield scoreboard in Buffalo.
  • Sean’s favorite sports team is the Pittsburgh Steelers.
  • Sean still sleeps in his old room when the Reds visit Pittsburgh. On his wall is a poster of Oakland’s Bash Brothers and another of Don Mattingly. Mattingly was one of the players Sean most admired as a kid.
  • Sean’s hard hitting and slow running resulted in 27 double plays in 2005, leading the NL.

 

 

 

 


Danny Graves,
2001 Upper Deck Vintage


Johnny Bench, 1977 Hostess


Miguel Tejada book


 

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