Sean Runyan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
Any material not supported by sources may be challenged and removed at any time. This article has been tagged since January 2007.

Sean David Runyan (born June 21, 1974 in Fort Smith, Arkansas) is a former Major League Baseball player.

After attending Urbandale High School in Urbandale, Iowa, Runyan was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 5th round of the 1992 amateur draft. After several seasons in the minors Runyan was traded to the San Diego Padres in 1997, but was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the Rule V draft that same year. As per the stipulations of the Rule V draft, Runyan had to spend the majority of the season with the Tigers, rather than be sent down to the minor leagues.

Runyan's Major League debut came on March 31, 1998. He would be used as a left-handed specialist out of the Tigers bullpen, and would go on to lead the American League in appearances with 88. The 88 appearances were 2 short of the American League record, but were enough to set the record for rookies. It is also tied for the most appearances in a season by a left-handed pitcher, along with Mike Myers and Steve Kline.

After dealing with arm troubles, Runyan pitched his final game on September 9, 2000. For his career, he pitched parts of 3 seasons, all in Detroit, and was out of baseball by 2003.