Rick Sweet

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American baseball player and manager (born 1952)

title: "Rick Sweet" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["major-league-baseball-catchers", "san-diego-padres-players", "new-york-mets-players", "seattle-mariners-players", "major-league-baseball-bullpen-coaches", "major-league-baseball-first-base-coaches", "houston-astros-coaches", "seattle-mariners-coaches", "seattle-mariners-scouts", "walla-walla-padres-players", "amarillo-gold-sox-players", "20th-century-american-sportsmen", "hawaii-islanders-players", "binghamton-mets-managers", "tidewater-tides-players", "portland-beavers-managers", "baseball-players-from-washington-(state)", "1952-births", "living-people", "gonzaga-bulldogs-baseball-players", "sportspeople-from-longview,-washington", "nashville-sounds-managers", "louisville-bats-managers", "colorado-springs-sky-sox-managers", "lower-columbia-red-devils-baseball-players", "san-antonio-missions-managers", "leones-del-caracas-managers", "united-states-marine-corps-personnel-of-the-vietnam-war"] description: "American baseball player and manager (born 1952)" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Sweet" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American baseball player and manager (born 1952) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox baseball biography"]

Field	Value
name	Rick Sweet
number	16
position	Catcher
image	File:Rick Sweet 16 (cropped).jpg
caption	Sweet as manager of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox in 2016
width	280px
bats	Switch
throws	Right
birth_date
birth_place	Longview, Washington, U.S.
debutleague	MLB
debutdate	April 8
debutyear	1978
debutteam	San Diego Padres
finalleague	MLB
finaldate	October 2
finalyear	1983
finalteam	Seattle Mariners
statleague	MLB
stat1label	Batting average
stat1value	.234
stat2label	Home runs
stat2value	6
stat3label	Runs batted in
stat3value	57
::

San Diego Padres ()
New York Mets ()
Seattle Mariners (–) Ricky Joe Sweet (born September 7, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Milwaukee Brewers' Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. He played three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1978 and 1983 for the San Diego Padres, New York Mets, and Seattle Mariners. Sweet became a major league coach in 1984 and spent two years as a scout before beginning his minor league managerial career in 1987.

Sweet has won four minor league manager of the year awards. His first was the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year Award in 1994 with the Tucson Toros. He has won the International League Manager of the Year Award three times. The first two were won back-to-back with the Louisville Bats in 2008 and 2009, while the third was won in 2022 with the Nashville Sounds. Sweet was the recipient of the Mike Coolbaugh Award in 2022.

Early life

Rick Sweet was born on September 7, 1952, in Longview, Washington. After graduating from Mark Morris High School, Sweet served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War but never saw combat.

Playing career

San Diego Padres (1975–1980)

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Rick_Sweet_-San_Diego_Padres-_1978.jpg" caption="Sweet with the [[San Diego Padres]] in 1978" alt="A man in a white baseball uniform crouched down with a catcher's mitt on one hand while giving a pitching sign with the other"] ::

Sweet was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 31st round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft, but he elected not to sign and continued at Gonzaga. He was later selected in the third round of the secondary phase of the 1975 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres.

He began his professional career in 1975 with the Walla Walla Padres of the Class A Short Season Northwest League. Splitting his time between catcher and first base, He was promoted to the Double-A Amarillo Gold Sox of the Texas League in 1976, primarily as a catcher. Sweet moved up to Triple-A in 1977 with the Pacific Coast League's Hawaii Islanders.

On April 8, 1978, Sweet made his major league debut as a pinch hitter versus the San Francisco Giants. Coming to bat in the fifth inning, he grounded out against Jim Barr in his only plate appearance. After three more games pinch hitting, he made his first major league start at catcher on April 19 against the Houston Astros. Having split time behind the plate with Gene Tenace, he appeared in 88 games and accumulated a .221 batting average with 11 RBI by the season's end.

In 1979, San Diego replaced Sweet with Bill Fahey, who had been acquired from the Texas Rangers. Sweet spent the entirety of the 1979 and 1980 seasons at Triple-A Hawaii. While still primarily catching, he played about one third of the 1979 season at first base and one quarter of the 1980 campaign at third base.

New York Mets (1981–1982)

Sweet's contract was purchased by the New York Mets on December 15, 1980.

Seattle Mariners (1982–1983)

The Seattle Mariners purchased Sweet's contract on May 21, 1982, and made him their starting catcher. Across the 1982 and 1983 seasons, he played more games behind the plate than any other Mariners' catcher, appearing in a total of 181 games, batting .238 with 46 RBI.

Coaching and managerial career

After retiring as a player, Sweet was hired as the Mariners' bullpen coach for 1984. In 1985, he became an advance scout for Seattle. He remained in this position until June 1987, when he was given his first managerial post. Seattle made Sweet manager of their Class A Short Season Bellingham Mariners of the Northwest League in 1987. He was moved up to the Class A Wausau Timbers of the Midwest League in 1988.

Sweet left for the Houston Astros organization as manager of their Class A Osceola Astros of the Florida State League in 1989. Though the 1994 team did not qualify for a return trip to the playoffs, Sweet was recognized as the PCL Manager of the Year. In 1996, Sweet was added to the Astros' major league coaching staff as first base coach under manager Terry Collins. After one season, he was let go along with Collins.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/NMETLC_Deputy_Commander_Throws_out_First_Pitch_(190612-N-IT566-0039)_(cropped).jpg" caption="Sweet managing the [[San Antonio Missions]] in 2019"] ::

Sweet landed in the New York Mets organization for 1997 managing the Double-A Binghamton Mets in the Eastern League. Sweet led the team to win a second league crown in 1999 with a 3–2 defeat of the Norwich Navigators. He was promoted to the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx of the International League in 2000. He next managed the San Diego Padres' Triple-A Portland Beavers in the PCL from 2001 to 2003 and the Detroit Tigers' Double-A Erie SeaWolves in the Eastern League in 2004.

Sweet was hired by the Cincinnati Reds to manage their Triple-A Louisville Bats of the International League in 2005, where he remained for seven seasons through 2011. Sweet won back-to-back International League Manager of the Year Awards in 2008 and 2009. From 2012 to 2013, he served as a roving catching instructor in the Reds' system.

Sweet joined the Milwaukee Brewers organization in 2014 as manager of the Triple-A Nashville Sounds in the PCL. which became known again as the International League in 2022. Sweet led the 2022 Sounds to a league-best 91–58 record and won the IL Manager of the Year Award for a third time. He was chosen for the 2022 Mike Coolbaugh Award in recognition for his "outstanding baseball work ethic, knowledge of the game, and skill in mentoring young players on the field."

References

"Rick Sweet Stats". Sports Reference.
"Gonzaga University Baseball Players Who Made It to the Major Leagues".
(3 June 2015). "Colorado Springs Sky Sox host Wounded Warriors for batting practice". [[Colorado Springs Gazette]].
"Rick Sweet Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History". Sports Reference.
"1975 Northwest League Batting Leaders". Sports Reference.
"Rick Sweet 1978 Batting Game Logs". Sports Reference.
"San Diego Padres at San Francisco Giants Box Score, April 8, 1978". Sports Reference.
"Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres Box Score, April 23, 1978". Sports Reference.
(April 4, 1984). "Mariners Add Sweet as Coach". Democrat and Chronicle.
Wilson, Linda. (February 21, 1985). "Rick Sweet: Baseball Scout". Longview Daily News.
(December 20, 1986). "Local Notes". Longview Daily News.
"Pacific Coast League Award Winners". Minor League Baseball.
Wasser, Al. (November 15, 1995). "Rick Sweet Named First Base Coach for the Houston Astros". Longview Daily News.
Carroll, Frank. (October 20, 1996). "From Class A to Majors". The Orlando Sentinel.
"1999 Eastern League Standings".
"2009 International League Standings".
"2010 International League Standings".
"International League Award Winners". Minor League Baseball.
McCorkle, Rick. (December 3, 2011). "Bats Fire Rick Sweet as Team Manager Despite Winning Streak".
McCoy, Hal. (October 5, 2013). "Early Candidates for Reds Manager". Dayton Daily News.
(March 16, 2022). "Historical League Names to Return in 2022".
"2022 International League". Sports Reference.
(November 7, 2022). "Rick Sweet Named International League Manager of the Year". Minor League Baseball.
(December 6, 2022). "Sweet, LaRocque Win Coolbaugh, Bender Awards".

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