Sweet was born September 7, 1952, in Longview, Washington. After graduating from Mark Morris High School, he attended Gonzaga University, where he played college baseball for the Bulldogs from 1973 to 1975.\n', '

Sweet was drafted in the 3rd round of the secondary phase of the 1975 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres. He spent six seasons in their organization, including one full season with the major league club in 1978, when he split time behind the plate with Gene Tenace. He batted .221 in 88 games.\n', '

In 1979, he was replaced by Bill Fahey, who had been acquired from the Texas Rangers. On his 1979 Topps baseball card, Rick is laughing. This is because teammate and friend Gene Tenace asked him jokingly how it felt hitting only one home run, to which Rick started laughing and the photographer snapped the photo, and it was used for his baseball card.[citation needed]\n', '

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