Sean Runyan

Sean David Runyan (born June 21, 1974) 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.[1] After several seasons in the minors with the Quad City River Bandits, the Astros traded him to the San Diego Padres in 1997 for Luis Lopez,[2] but was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the Rule 5 draft that same year.[3]

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.[4] Runyan was mostly a specialist but did pick up one career save. On July 11, 1998, Runyan pitched 1 1/3 innings to close out a 5-2 Tigers victory over the Blue Jays. He saved the game for starting pitcher Brian Moehler. [5]

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.