ROANOKE TIMES 

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 17, 1990                   TAG: 9006170221
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

SWEENEY SIGNS ON WITH INDIANS

Overlooked in baseball's free-agent draft last week, former William Byrd pitcher Mark Sweeney was planning to take it easy this summer. A trip to the Cleveland Indians' tryout camp Saturday at Virginia Tech changed his plans.

"It's really a surprise," the recent University of Richmond graduate said after signing a rookie contract. "I didn't expect it at all. I finished playing ball at school a month ago and hadn't picked up a ball in a month. I just went out there to see what I could do. I guess they just saw something they liked."

Sweeney, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-hander, said he will fly to Orlando, Fla., on Monday and report to the Winter Haven Indians of the Gulf Coast League.

Sweeney, 22, had a 17-11 record in four years at Richmond. He pitched for William Byrd from 1983-86, finishing with 201 career strikeouts. - Staff report 


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