So it was normal for the Red Sox outfielder to feel a sense of nostalgia before Monday's game against the Athletics, even though he wasn't in the lineup against lefty Tommy Milone.
"I had a great time there," Sweeney said. "Obviously, my last year there I didn't play a whole lot, but my first three years there, I had a great time. Wish I could've stayed healthy and been on the field a little bit more my last two years, but as far as the whole, you play one for a team for four years, it's almost like a second home."
Sweeney has already exceeded his output from his last season in Oakland. In 67 at-bats this season, the 27-year-old has mashed 11 doubles, as many as he recorded in 264 at-bats with the Athletics in 2011.
He credits aspects of his hitting success to the comforts of Fenway Park, a ballpark tailored to his skills, as opposed to the Oakland Coliseum.
"I've always been the type of person when sometimes you go into a ballpark and you just feel like it's overmatched, it's so big," Sweeney said. "When you have that confidence at the plate and you go here, you know that you can hit a ball out to center or right or hit one off the Monster.”
Despite the lack of playing time toward the end of his tenure, Sweeney still visited with his former teammates and coaches prior to the game. He also admitted to maintaining contact — via text — with Daric Barton and Kurt Suzuki.
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