| Sean Runyan | |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Left |
| Birth Date: | 21 June 1974 |
| Birth Place: | Fort Smith, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | March 31 |
| Debutyear: | 1998 |
| Debutteam: | Detroit Tigers |
| Finalleague: | MLB |
| Finaldate: | September 9 |
| Finalyear: | 2000 |
| Finalteam: | Detroit Tigers |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Stat1label: | Win–loss record |
| Stat1value: | 1–5 |
| Stat2label: | Earned run average |
| Stat2value: | 3.66 |
| Stat3label: | Strikeouts |
| Stat3value: | 46 |
| Teams: |
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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.