Nick Swisher

Nick Swisher

Swisher with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians – No. 33
Right fielder / First baseman
Born: November 25, 1980
Columbus, Ohio
Bats: Switch Throws: Left
MLB debut
September 3, 2004 for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics
(through 2014 season)
Batting average .251
Hits 1,295
Home runs 239
Runs batted in 778
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Nicholas Thompson Swisher (born November 25, 1980) is an American professional baseball outfielder and primarily a first baseman for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball. Swisher is a switch hitter who throws left-handed. He has also played for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees. He won the 2009 World Series with the Yankees and was an All-Star in 2010.

Swisher is the son of former MLB catcher Steve Swisher, who played for various National League baseball clubs in the 1970s and 1980s. Swisher was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Before his professional career, Swisher played college baseball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Drafted by the A's in the 2002 MLB Draft, Swisher made his MLB debut with the Athletics in 2004, and played for the team through 2007. After spending one year with the White Sox in 2008, the Yankees acquired him prior to the start of the 2009 campaign. He played in New York for four years before signing with the Cleveland Indians prior to the 2013 season.

Early life

Nick Swisher is the son of Steve Swisher, a former major leaguer of German descent, and an Italian mother, Lillian Marie Malizia, whose grandfather emigrated to the Buffalo area from the town of Oliveri, in Sicily.[1][2] Swisher's parents divorced when he was 11 years old. He then went to live with his grandparents in Parkersburg, West Virginia, who raised him during his teenage years.[3]

Amateur career

Swisher was a two-sport star at Parkersburg High School in football and baseball as well as a letterman in basketball. As a strong safety he was recruited by several Division I-A football programs, including University of Notre Dame, but chose to pursue baseball.[4]

Undrafted in the Major League Baseball Draft out of high school, Swisher enrolled at Ohio State University, as that school and Ohio University were the only colleges to recruit him for baseball.[4] Playing for the Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team in the Big Ten Conference, Swisher was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2000, after hitting .299 with 10 home runs and 48 runs batted in (RBI). He was an All-Big Ten selection as a first baseman as a sophomore in 2001, after hitting .322 with 56 RBI and a league-leading 15 home runs. He earned All-Big Ten honors as an outfielder in 2002, after batting .348 with 10 home runs and 52 RBI.

Professional career

Draft

Swisher was selected by the Oakland Athletics with the Boston Red Sox first round pick in 2002 as compensation for the loss of free agent Johnny Damon. Swisher, and the Athletics' 2002 draft, are heavily featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book Moneyball. In a book whose key theme is the gulf between orthodox baseball thinking and the new sabermetric influenced system being implemented by Billy Beane, Swisher was notable as one of the few examples of a player who traditional scouts and Beane could agree upon.[5]

Minor league career

Swisher made his professional debut with the Vancouver Canadians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League in 2002,[6] before he was promoted to the Visalia Oaks of the Class A-Advanced California League.[7] Swisher started the 2003 season with the Modesto A's, Oakland's new California League affiliate, where he batted .296 in 51 games before receiving a promotion to the Midland Rockhounds of the Class AA Texas League in June.[8] He batted .230 in 76 games for Midland to finish the season, and then played in the Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Desert Dogs.[9]

Swisher played for the Sacramento River Cats of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League for the 2004 season. That season, he led all minor league baseball players with 103 walks.[10]

Major league career

Oakland Athletics (2004–2007)

Swisher batting for the Athletics in 2005.

Swisher made his MLB debut in 2004 for the Athletics, playing in 20 games. Retaining his rookie status for 2005,[lower-alpha 1] Swisher hit 21 home runs and recorded 74 RBI in 131 games for the 2005 Athletics. He finished 6th in the American League Rookie of the Year voting. Teammate Huston Street won the award, while fellow 2002 Oakland draftee Joe Blanton finished seventh.[12]

Following his rookie season, Swisher improved in most offensive categories. During the 2006 regular season, Swisher compiled a .254 batting average with 35 home runs. He also improved his on-base percentage by raising it to .372, as well as boosting his slugging percentage to .493. Swisher finished second for the team in on-base plus slugging behind the veteran slugger Frank Thomas. Swisher spent about half of his playing time in left field, and the other half at first base. The Oakland A's lacked both Dan Johnson and Erubiel Durazo for a large portion of the 2006 season, leaving room for Swisher to move back into his preferred position on a temporary basis.[13] During the season, Swisher had a column for ESPN.com about his various baseball experiences called Sophomore Year. This included multiple articles that pertained to his early MLB playing experiences, as well as the MLB Draft of 2002.[14]

Swisher made his postseason debut as the Oakland A's took on the Minnesota Twins in the 2006 ALDS. Swisher got 3 hits and an RBI during the series as the Oakland A's performed a 3-game sweep against the Twins to advance to the ALCS. During the 2006 ALCS vs the Detroit Tigers, Swisher had a .100 batting average with one hit. The Oakland A's would eventually lose the ALCS to the Tigers in just 4 games.

Swisher has also exemplified a good amount of durability in contrast to his teammates who have spent a large portion of time on the disabled list.

On September 16, 2007, Swisher initiated a brawl when he charged the mound after getting hit by a pitch from Texas Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla. Earlier in the plate appearance, Padilla (who had hit Swisher the prior year) threw two inside pitches with the apparent intention of hitting Swisher. Both players were ejected following the brawl.

Chicago White Sox (2008)

Swisher as a White Sox player.

Swisher was traded on January 3, 2008 to the Chicago White Sox for minor leaguers Ryan Sweeney, Gio Gonzalez, and Fautino de los Santos as part of what Athletics general manager Billy Beane termed a "rebuilding effort".[15] While Swisher quickly established himself as a fan favorite on his new team he struggled offensively, batting just .219 through the season (the lowest batting average in the majors), though he improved his home run total from 22 in 2007 to 24 in 2008.[16][17] He also led the majors in pitches per plate appearance, with 4.51.[18] Because of his poor offensive play White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén benched Swisher for most of September, saying publicly that "I have to put the best lineup out there to win the game ... To me, the best lineup right now is without (Swisher)."[19] Swisher finished the 2008 regular season with a .219 batting average, 24 home runs, and 69 RBI.

Despite his career low stats in the regular season, Swisher was included in the postseason roster for the White Sox. During the 2008 ALDS against the Tampa Bay Rays, Swisher had a hit and 2 walks. The White Sox would eventually lose the division series against the Rays in 4 games.

New York Yankees (2009–2012)

On November 13, 2008, Swisher and minor league pitcher Kanekoa Texeira were traded to the New York Yankees for utility man Wilson Betemit and minor league pitchers Jeffrey Marquez and Jhonny Núñez.[20] Swisher was acquired to be the Yankees starting first baseman. However, the Yankees signed Mark Teixeira later in the offseason, who took the starting role.[21] At the end of spring training, manager Joe Girardi announced that Xavier Nady would be starting in right field while Swisher would be a bench player.[22][23] Due to the perceived logjam, many teams reportedly pursued Swisher,[24][25] but the Yankees opted to keep him as a reserve outfielder and first baseman.

On April 9, 2009 against the Baltimore Orioles, Swisher was started for the first time as a Yankee in right field, replacing Xavier Nady who was playing DH to give Hideki Matsui a rest. Swisher capitalized on this opportunity and had a great game, going 3 for 5 with a home run and tying his career high of five RBIs. Just five days later, Swisher became the starting right fielder after Nady went on the injured reserve list due to an elbow injury.[26]

On April 13, 2009, in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Swisher pitched one inning in relief, allowing one hit and one walk before retiring the next three batters in a row, including a strikeout against Gabe Kapler in his first pitching appearance in the major leagues.[27] He was the first Yankee position player to pitch since Wade Boggs in 1997 and the first Yankee to homer and pitch in the same game since Lindy McDaniel did it in Detroit on September 28, 1972.[28]

Swisher batting in 2009, his first year with the Yankees

Swisher hit his first postseason home run in the 2009 World Series. He got his first championship title as the Yankees eventually won the World Series against the Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games.

Due to a .128 batting average in the 2009 postseason, Swisher worked with hitting coach Kevin Long to reinvent his swing for the 2010 season.[29] Swisher was a contestant in the 2010 All-Star Final Vote from July 4 to July 8. Swisher lobbied for the post with a promotion commercial of him with a surf board to indicate that he would be surfing in Southern California since the game was to be hosted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In what was to that date the closest vote in Final Vote history, he won the final place on the AL roster ahead of Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis.[30] Additionally, Swisher participated in the Home Run Derby.[31] Swisher finished the season with a career-high .288 batting average and 29 home runs.[32] Although Swisher was usually hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, he was moved into the #2 slot in the lineup after Nick Johnson went down with an injury and served as a buffer for the middle of the Yankees lineup.

In 2011, Swisher was moved down in the lineup to allow Curtis Granderson to hit second behind Derek Jeter and spent the majority of the season hitting sixth behind Robinson Canó. His fielding percentage ranked 2nd among all American League Right Fielders with a .996 behind Baltimore's Nick Markakis. Although Swisher's totals dipped a bit from his 2010 career year, he still managed to hit .260 and was one of four Yankees with at least 20 home runs (after Granderson, Teixeira, and Cano) and finished fourth on the team with 85 RBIs.

During the Bleacher Creatures' roll call at the top of the first inning, Swisher is known to come to attention and salute the bleachers.

On November 9, 2012, Swisher declined a $13.3 million one-year qualifying offer from the Yankees, making him a free agent. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees will receive a compensatory pick because the Indians signed Swisher but it will not be the Indians' pick. Cleveland, in turn will surrender its highest pick outside of the top ten but that pick will simply disappear. It will not go to the Yankees.[33]

Cleveland Indians

On December 23, 2012, Swisher agreed to a four-year, $56 million contract with the Cleveland Indians. The contract reportedly includes a fifth year vesting option worth $14 million, making the total contract worth $70 million. The deal became official on January 3, 2013.[34] He soon called a section of the stadium Brohio.

The 2014 season marked a difficult one for Swisher, as injuries had caused him to post career lows in batting average (.208), games played (97) and home runs (8).[35] On June 19, 2014, after going 0-4 at the plate, striking out three times, Swisher hit a walk-off grand slam against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim propelling the Indians to a 5-3 win in ten innings. The Indians were down to their last strike when he did that. On August 20, the Indians announced that Swisher would have arthroscopic surgery on both of his knees, ending his season.

Swisher began the 2015 season on the 15-day disabled list due to still recovering from surgery on both knees.

Personal life

Family members

Swisher is married to actress Joanna García

Swisher's father, Steve Swisher, played 509 games in the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, and San Diego Padres from 1974 through 1982.[36]

Swisher was very close to his paternal grandmother, Betty Lorraine Swisher, who raised him after his parents' divorce. She died from brain cancer in 2005, and he has a memorial tattoo in her honor on his chest (her initials, surrounded by angel's wings and a halo.)[3] Swisher routinely looks up to the sky to honor his parents and grandparents. He also touches his lips and points to the sky in his grandmothers honor after he gets a hit as well as inking her initials on the bottom of his bats' knobs and kissing the letters when he comes to home plate.[3] To honor her further, he let his hair grow for eleven months and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a program that creates free wigs for cancer patients. On May 19, 2007, he cut his hair with assistance from his father.[37] His website, nickswisher.net, is also dedicated to his grandmother.[38] After his grandfather, Don, died in November 2008, Swisher began adding his initials to his bats as well. He later stated that he planned on getting another tattoo on his back in the same style as his existing one after the 2009 season to honor his grandfather.[3]

Marriage

Nick Swisher and Joanna on a USO tour in Afghanistan in 2011

In August 2009, People reported that Swisher was dating actress Joanna García.[39] Swisher and García became engaged in May 2010,[40] and married on December 11, 2010, at the Breakers Hotel & Resort in Palm Beach, Florida.[41] The couple has one daughter, Emerson Jay Swisher, born on May 21, 2013.[42][43]

In 2011, Swisher guest starred as himself on two episodes of his wife's sitcom, Better with You. The first episode aired February 16 and the second aired February 23.[44] He also appeared in the episode "Perfect Week" of How I Met Your Mother,[45] which aired in February 2010.

Charity album

Swisher released a children's music album titled "Believe" on August 9, 2011. A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to "Swish's Wishes", a charity started by Swisher for children who are facing health crises. The 12-song album features guest appearances from Bernie Williams and Barry Zito. All of the songs recorded on the album are cover songs that were selected by Swisher.[46] The album peaked at #3 on the chart of iTunes Children's Albums.[47]

See also


Notes

  1. ↑ Though Swisher debuted with the Athletics in 2004, he qualified as a rookie in 2005, as he had less than 130 at-bats during the 2004 season.[11]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?n=lillian-marie-malizia&pid=163017315&fhid=8704
  2. ↑ http://www.ellisisland.org/search/shipManifest.asp?MID=18239014160923753504&FNM=ROSARIO&LNM=JANNELLO&PLNM=JANNELLO&bSYR=1881&bEYR=1885&first_kind=1&last_kind=1&RF=1&PID=102363070217
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 McCarron, Anthony (May 9, 2009). "Swisher Honors Memory of Woman Who Raised Him". New York Daily News.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Nick Swisher Has Found Success In His Strut". Sports Illustrated. May 29, 2006. Retrieved November 19, 2009.
  5. ↑ Lewis, Michael (2003). Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. W.W. Norton & Company Inc. ISBN 0-393-05765-8.
  6. ↑ Times (2002-06-21). "Spokesman.com | Archives". Nl.newsbank.com. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  7. ↑ "Visalia Alumni in MLB All-Star Game | Visalia Rawhide News". Milb.com. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  8. ↑ "NL.Newsbank.com". Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  9. ↑  . "Talking baseball with Swisher | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  10. ↑ "2004 Minor League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  11. ↑ "MLB Miscellany: Rules, regulations and statistics". MLB Advanced Media. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
  12. ↑ Street wins AL Rookie of Year; Howard wins NL ESPN.com
  13. ↑ Swisher's stats on Yahoo! Sports Yahoo! Sports
  14. ↑ "Swisher's Sophomore Year Column on espn.com" ESPN.com
  15. ↑ Rebuilding A's continue dealing – Swisher to White Sox MLB.com. Retrieved January 3, 2008.
  16. ↑ "2008 Major League Baseball Advanced Batting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  17. ↑ Nick Swisher 2008 stats Swisher's stats on MLB.com
  18. ↑ "2008 Major League Baseball Pitches Batting". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  19. ↑ Ex-Buckeye Nick Swisher Is Becoming a Fan Favorite.. Bleacher Report (2010-10-22). Retrieved on 2010-12-22.
  20. ↑ "Yankees acquire 1B/OF Nick Swisher and Kanekoa Texeira from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for INF Wilson Betemit and two Minor League pitchers, 11/13/2008" (Press release). Major League Baseball. 2008-11-13. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  21. ↑ Hoch, Bryan (December 23, 2008). "Yanks feel fortunate to land Teixeira: Move delivers a convincing warning to the American League East". MLB.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  22. ↑ Hoch, Bryan (March 23, 2009). "Girardi: Nady leading in right-field race: Swisher now projects as reserve outfielder, first baseman". MLB.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010.w
  23. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (March 23, 2009). "Yankees’ Right-Field Competition Ends With Nady as the Winner". New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  24. ↑ Haft, Chris (January 8, 2009). "Giants, Swisher would be nice match: Yankees could be shopping outfielder after signing Teixeira". MLB.com. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  25. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (January 16, 2009). "Yankees Hearing Offers for Swisher and Nady". New York Times. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  26. ↑ Feinsand, Mark (April 15, 2010). "Yankees OF Xavier Nady headed to disabled list, could be done for season". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
  27. ↑ "MLB – New York Yankees/Tampa Bay Rays Box Score Monday April 13, 2009 – Yahoo! Sports". Sports.yahoo.com. 2009-04-13. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  28. ↑ "New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Preview – April 14, 2009 – ESPN". Sports.espn.go.com. 2009-04-14. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  29. ↑ Nick Swisher's offense is now in full swing. NorthJersey.com. Retrieved on 2010-12-22.
  30. ↑ Newman, Mark (2010-07-08). "Votto, Swisher win tight Final Vote". MLB.com. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  31. ↑ Home Run Derby a delight for Swisher, 07/12/10
  32. ↑ "Nick Swisher Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  33. ↑ Boland, Erik (November 9, 2012). "Nick Swisher, Rafael Soriano and Hiroki Kuroda decline Yankees' qualifying offers". Newsday. Retrieved 2012-11-10.
  34. ↑ "Indians, Nick Swisher agree to deal". December 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  35. ↑ "Nick Swisher says he's going through "uncharted waters' this season with Cleveland Indians". June 30, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  36. ↑ "BaseballReference.com". Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  37. ↑ Nick Swisher signs on as an entertainment industry foundation ambassador for Pantene Beautiful Lengths MLB.com 03/13/2007
  38. ↑ "nickswisher.net". "nickswisher.net". Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  39. ↑ Marx, Linda (2009-08-12). "Is Kate Hudson A-Rod's Good Luck Charm? – Couples, Alex Rodriguez, Kate Hudson". People.com. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  40. ↑ "Privileged's Joanna Garcia and Yankee Nick Swisher Are Engaged". People. May 28, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  41. ↑ "Joanna Garcia and Nick Swisher Wed in Palm Beach". People. December 11, 2010. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
  42. ↑ "Nick and JoAnna Garcia Swisher Welcome a Daughter". People. May 22, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  43. ↑ "Nick and JoAnna Garcia Swisher Welcome Daughter Emerson Jay". People. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
  44. ↑ "Video: Does JoAnna Garcia's NY Yankee Husband Hit a Home Run on Better With You?". TVLine.com. February 13, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2011.
  45. ↑ Snyder, Whitney (2010-02-17). "Nick Swisher On 'How I Met Your Mother' (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  46. ↑ Nick Swisher to release kids album, 'Believe' YES Network
  47. ↑ "Nick Swisher's "Believe" Rises to #3 on Itunes". hogwild.net. 2011-08-04. Retrieved 2011-08-25.

External links

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