How can you get more all-American than apple pie, hot dogs, baseball and a guy named Johnny?

Johnny Sweeney, a junior, plays left field for the Saint Louis University baseball team, and isn't too shabby at bat either. Last season he had a .254 average and hit .444 with the bases loaded.

Sweeney has grown up on baseball, and for the most part, he loves every minute of it.

"I first started to play when I was 3," Sweeney said. "My dad loves baseball, and we used to play catch in the yard. He encouraged me to play, and I loved it as well. I started to play in leagues when I was 5 or 6."

And he hasn't stopped playing since.

Sweeney hasn't always played left field, though.

"When I came to SLU, I thought about being a pitcher, but my pitching didn't go so well, and I played a lot better at left field, so I went with the obvious choice of playing left field," he said.

With many choices of colleges in Missouri, Sweeney feels that he picked the right one.

"SLU was the best fit of both school and baseball," he said. "I know here that I am getting a good education and learning a lot. It's also a great location, close enough to home that I can get in a car and go home."

Sweeney hails from Kansas City and enjoys the fact that his family, to whom he is very close, can watch him play. He has three siblings and was thankful of the fact that home isn't that far.

"On Easter, my whole family came up to see me play," Sweeney said. "Everyone is usually really busy, but they put in a lot of effort to come to my games."

His parents, he said, will sometimes alternate who has to stay home on weekends, so they can each see him play.

Even though he is from Kansas City, and a Royals fan, he has respect for St. Louis and its Cardinals obsession. "I am very supportive of the Royals, but I have good friends who are Cardinals fans," Sweeney said. "While I used to get annoyed, I went to a game and saw what great fans the city has and what a great baseball town it is. I can appreciate that."

Playing at SLU has had some good moments so far in his career.

"I think one of the best games so far was last year when we beat Mizzou at Mizzou," Sweeney said. "It was pretty unexpected, especially by them."

He has also learned a great deal from playing baseball for much of his life.

"I have learned that in this sport there is a lot of failure and you mess up a lot," Sweeney said.

"If you hit the ball only three out of 10 times, that's considered good. It pushes you to work hard and to learn from your failure and push yourself to be the best you can. I've learned the importance of teamwork and good coaching."

Baseball plays a big part in Sweeney's life, but he doesn't let it take over his life. He also puts away the old clich� of athletes being superstitious.

"I don't have any superstitions," Sweeney said. "The only ritual I have is praying with the team, and alone, before each game. I think that it would take away from concentration during a game."

Some of his favorite games to play, however, are against SMS, SEMO and Mizzou.

"I know guys on those teams so I like to look at those games as a measuring stick to see how we can compete," Sweeney said.

Being a student athlete is never easy. With the rigorous schedule of baseball season, it can get extremely tough.

"I miss class a lot," Sweeney said. "It really takes a toll on us, but we learn to deal with it. It forces you to organize and be efficient with your time. I like to think positive and to think how it will help me be prepared in life."

A baseball player's day can be tough. In the fall, they have six to eight weeks of team practice, with tryouts and individual work with coaches.

In the winter, they do weights at least three times a week and are required to do some running also. When the heart of the season comes around, they play games from mid-February through well after graduation in May. Game days require the players to spend about eight hours at the field, warming up, playing and maintaining the field.

Even through all of this, Sweeney still sees baseball as something special.

"There is something about baseball; not a freedom really, but a little escape, I don't see it as hard work, but a pretty relaxing thing," he said.

"It's relaxed, with a good atmosphere, a close team, and we are having fun."