Sean Frederick Bergman (born April 11, 1970) is an American former right-handed

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB)

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

between 1993 and 2000. Bergman attended

Joliet Catholic High School Joliet Catholic Academy (Joliet Catholic or JCA) is a coed Catholic high school in Joliet, Illinois. It is located in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Joliet. One of the oldest Catholic high schools in the Chicago area, Joliet Catholic is perhaps b ...

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

, before attending

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

. Standing at 6'4", 205 pounds, Bergman was originally drafted by the Tigers 115th overall in the

1991 Major League Baseball draft The 1991 Major League Baseball draft began 3 June 1991 to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 1990 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be distributed for players who did ...

. He spent his first professional season, 1991, with the

Niagara Falls Rapids The Niagara Falls Rapids were a Class-A minor league baseball team located in Niagara Falls, New York. The team played in the New York–Penn League throughout its existence. The team played all of their home games at Sal Maglie Stadium. The te ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. In 15 games with them, he went five and seven with a 4.46

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA). A

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, he struck out 77 batters in just over 84 innings of work. He started the 1992 season with the

Lakeland Tigers Lakeland is primarily a toponym. It may refer to: Places Australia *Lakeland, Queensland Canada *Lakeland (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta *Lakeland County, a former municipal district in Alberta * District of La ...

, going five and two with them, with a 2.49 ERA. He finished his second professional season with a nine and nine record, posting a 3.41 ERA. This is because after his promotion to the

London Tigers The London Tigers were a professional Double-A Minor League Baseball team that played in the Eastern League from 1989 to 1993. They played at Labatt Memorial Park in London, Ontario, and were affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. At the time, it ...

, he went only four and seven with a 4.28 ERA. Although his 1993 minor league season was statistically lackluster (eight and nine with a 4.38 ERA), he still must have impressed the big-league Tigers enough to earn a promotion. He made his major league debut on July 7 of that year against the Minnesota Twins. Overall, he went 1–4 in nine games with the Tigers in 1993. He walked 23 and struck out 19 in 39 innings. One notable achievement though is that he pitched a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

in the first start of his career. He spent most of 1994 with the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

, posting an 11–8 record. He started three games in the majors, going 2–1. Bergman spent the majority of the 1995 season in the majors. In 28 games started, he posted a 7–10 record with a 5.12 ERA. His 13

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third st ...

es were second in the league, trailing only

Al Leiter Alois Terry Leiter (; born October 23, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blu ...

's 14. He did pitch one

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

, which put him ninth in the league. Right before the 1996 season, he was traded by the Tigers with Cade Gaspar and

Todd Steverson Todd Anthony Steverson (born November 15, 1971) is an American professional baseball coach, and a former left and right fielder. He played for the Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres and coached for the Oakland Athletics and Chicago White Sox, al ...

to the San Diego Padres for Raul Casanova,

Richie Lewis Richie Todd Lewis (January 25, 1966 – December 8, 2021) was an American professional baseball player. He was a right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from to for the Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, Detroit ...

, and Melvin Nieves. He spent two seasons with the Padres, posting a combined record of 8–12 with an ERA of 5.17. After the 1997 season, he was traded from the Padres to the Houston Astros for

James Mouton James Raleigh Mouton (born December 29, 1968) is an American former professional baseball player. An outfielder, he played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball, from 1994 until 2001, for the Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Mon ...

. 1998 was perhaps Bergman's best season—he posted a record of 12–9 with a 3.72 ERA. He walked only 42 batters in 172 innings of work. In 1998, he gave up home runs to both

Sammy Sosa Samuel Peralta Sosa (; born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and ...

and

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

as they both chased

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (born Maras; September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new List of Major League Baseball p ...

' single-season home run record. He started 1999 with the Astros, but after posting a 4–6 record with a 5.36 ERA for the Astros to start the season, he was released and signed with the

. He appeared in relief in six games with the Braves, posting a solid 2.84 ERA. Selected off waivers by the Twins after the 1999 season, he was brought in to try to aid a team who had a struggling starting rotation. He did not make it any better. He started 14 games for them, posted a 9.66 ERA, and by late June, was released. His big league career ended on June 17, 2000, but his pro career did not. He bounced around the minors until 2004, even playing in Japan in 2002. Overall, he went 39–47 with a 5.28 ERA in 196 games. He walked 272 batters and struck out 455 in 750 innings of work. Bergman once was the pitching coach at the NCAA Division II level, coaching the Findlay team. He currently lives near

Bryan, Ohio Bryan is a city in, and the county seat of, Williams County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the state's northwestern corner, southwest of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo. The population was 8,729 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Histo ...

and has five children. He teaches physical education at Hicksville Elementary School in

Hicksville, Ohio Hicksville is a village in Defiance County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2020 census. It sits approximately 2.2 miles east of the Ohio-Indiana border. History Led by Henry W. Hicks, the Hicks Land Company platted the co ...

. He is also a high school girls golf coach .

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bergman, Sean 1970 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Atlanta Braves players Calgary Cannons players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Detroit Tigers players Houston Astros players Lakeland Tigers players London Tigers players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes players Ottawa Lynx players People from Bryan, Ohio San Diego Padres players Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players Baseball players from Joliet, Illinois Toledo Mud Hens players Niagara Falls Rapids players