Assuming the position of the pinch-hitter – one of the best ever — Mark Sweeney came to be quite the railbird. He’d park himself in the front row of his team’s dugout, hanging over the guard-rail, the better to watch pitchers that he might be summoned to face on a moment’s notice.

At the same time, he and teammates would also be quite aware of another presence nearby, a civilian of sorts. These days, there’s one in almost every major league ballpark, the local or national television commentator who’s assigned a location near the dugout.

“Yeah,” said Sweeney. “The elephant

Read more at UT San Diego where this story was originally published.