Dale Curtis Sveum ( ; born November 23, 1963) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager. He most recently served as the bench coach for the Kansas City Royals. As a player, Sveum saw action in 12 major league seasons between 1986 and 1999. He was a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, and New York Yankees. Following his playing career, Sveum managed in minor league baseball for several seasons before becoming an MLB coach. Sveum briefly served as manager of the Brewers in 2008 during his tenure as hitting coach for the team. He was later named manager of the Cubs after the 2011 season and served for two seasons. His cousin is former Blue Jays All-Star John Olerud. Playing career During his time at Pinole Valley High School, Sveum was recognized as an All-State and All-American quarterback, in addition to playing baseball and basketball. Drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (25th pick) of the 1982 amateur draft, he went on to play 12 seasons in MLB, hitting .236 with 69 home runs. Arguably, Sveum's finest season came in , when he hit 25 home runs and drove in 95 runs, mostly as the Brewers' ninth hitter in the lineup. One of his personal highlights came early in the season, when he hit a walk-off home run at County Stadium to give Milwaukee a 6–4 victory over the Texas Rangers. This victory, which came on April 19 (Easter Sunday), led the Brewers to a 12–0 record on the season. On July 17, 1987, Sveum totaled three homers and six RBIs during a 12–2 thumping of the California Angels. On September 3, 1988, Sveum was involved in a severe collision with fellow Brewer Darryl Hamilton. Sveum's leg was broken and he did not play again in . He also sat out the entire MLB season, while seeing action in 17 games in the minor leagues. In his first three major league seasons, Sveum's lowest yearly batting average was .242. Following his return to the majors in 1990, he only batted over .241 twice in parts of nine seasons. During his career, Sveum had the distinction of playing for five separate managers who would (at some point in their careers) win a league Manager of the Year Award: Tony La Russa (1983, 1988, 1992,