In the offseason, Indians bullpen coach Brian Sweeney, whose father was a firefighter for over 30 years, volunteers his time to help put out fires in his hometown in New York. Now, his two worlds are coming together.
Sweeney and the entire bullpen will be engaging in the first annual Ready to Respond community program throughout the season. They will host four local fire department, EMS and/or police first responders with Kaulig Club tickets to a few games per homestand.
“The guys in the bullpen, they wanted to reach out to the community and be a part of something bigger than themselves sometimes,” Sweeney said. “And first responders [are] something near and dear to my heart. And what they do on a daily basis is a hard job. … At the very least, give them tickets, pay some respect and [for them] to know that they can kick their feet up and enjoy [watching] the Tribe play is important to us.”