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05/17/2018 12:00 AMEddie Sweeney had to travel a long road back to the baseball field after seeing his junior season come to an abrupt end due to an injury. However, Eddie kept his head up, stayed the course, and wound up etching his place in Hand baseball history as a senior this spring.
Eddie, a right fielder, was only able to play 14 games last year after suffering a torn labrum, although he still made the All-SCC Team. After undergoing surgery and extensive rehabilitation, Eddie returned to the field this season and is currently sporting a .420 batting average to go with eight home runs and 27 RBI for the Hand baseball team.
On May 3, the senior captain became the Tigers’ all-time home run leader by hitting his 13th round-tripper in a game against Foran.
“It was a great honor. My friends were pushing me to break the record last year,” says Eddie. “Doing this after coming back from an injury is a huge accomplishment, but I just hope to keep producing and helping this team.”
Eddie’s injury occurred when he dove for a ball in the outfield during a game versus Amity last spring, although he didn’t realize how serious his injury was until the following day. It was frustrating for Eddie to miss so much time, but he went through the process to ensure that he’d be back on the field and ready to deliver in his senior year.
“I didn’t know I hurt it until the next day, when I couldn’t throw more than 10 feet without being in pain,” Eddie says. “It was a tough decision, because I didn’t want to have surgery and miss summer ball. I did have the surgery on May 30 of last year and rehabbed. I just kept telling myself that I would be back and better than ever. It was tough sitting around while the boys were playing their hearts out, but I stayed there mentally.”
Eddie spent some time playing fall baseball last year and, understandably, it took him a little while warm up at the plate. Once he hit his first homer this spring, though, it seemed just like old times for Eddie.
“I felt comfortable right off the bat. I just hit when I played fall ball, but I felt great once I took the field,” says Eddie. “It took me a couple games this year to hit my first home run, but I got it against Ledyard. From there, I felt I was back and started going on a tear.”
While hitting a baseball can prove one of the most difficult tasks in any sport, Eddie has developed quite a successful approach in the batter’s box. Eddie makes the most of what opposing pitchers give him, instead of waiting for that one perfect pitch.
“A good hitter is someone who can take a bad at-bat and adjust. You can’t try to do too much, because hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports,” Eddie says. “You also shouldn’t sit on one type of pitch.”
Tigers’ Head Coach Travis LaPointe says that Eddie displayed a great deal of toughness with the way he dealt with his injury. LaPointe adds that Eddie brings a tremendous leadership presence to the dugout with both his actions and words.
“Eddie is a fighter. He has a quiet toughness and confidence. He never seeks attention or accolades and always lets his performance speak for itself. He is a five-tool baseball player and a sensational athlete,” LaPointe says. “He leads by example. When he speaks, everyone listens, because he does not waste his words. He works as hard as any player I have ever had. He spends time working on his baseball skills and spends countless hours in the weight room. I have been around lots of great ballplayers, whether they are people I played with, coached, or coached against, and Eddie is the best baseball player I have ever seen at this age.”
Any baseball season is a grind that comes with its share of peaks and valleys, and Hand has experienced a bit of both this season. The Tigers recently lost four of six, but then posted two straight victories to move to 13-4, and Eddie feels confident they have what it takes to claim a championship.
“Our goal is a state title. We are going through a rough patch, but teams go through stretches like this,” says Eddie. “We have to play how we know how to play. We believe we can still win a state title.”