Nick Swisher

From BR Bullpen

Nicolas Thompson Swisher

Bats Both, Throws Left
Height 6' 0", Weight 194 lb.
School Ohio State University
Debut September 3, 2004
Born November 25, 1980 in Columbus, OH USA

[edit] Biographical Information

Nick Swisher came up originally in 2004, hit over 20 home runs in 2005, over 30 home runs in 2006, and over 20 home runs in 2007. In spite of his considerable power, he was being used as a lead-off batter by the Chicago White Sox in 2008, because he draws walks well. He is with the New York Yankees in 2009.

The son of former Major League catcher Steve Swisher, he was born in Columbus, OH in 1980. He attended Ohio State University, where he had three good years: in 2000, he was chosen Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year, as he posted numbers of .299/.389/.549 with 10 homers. In 2001, he was an All-Star first baseman in the conference, as he posted .322/.492/.672 with 15 homers. In 2002, he was an All-Star outfielder in the conference, as he posted .348/.470/.620 with 10 homers.

He was drafted in the first round of the 2002 amateur draft by the Oakland Athletics. They sent him to Vancouver in the Northwest League for 13 games, where he hit .250/.433/.455. They then moved him to Visalia in the California League for 49 games, where his numbers were also modest: .240/.340/.399.

In 2003, he was again in the California League, this time with Modesto, and his numbers were better, as he posted a line of .296/.418/.550 with 10 home runs in 51 games. That earned him a promotion to Midland in the AA Texas League, where he hit .230/.324/.380.

In 2004, he had a break-through year with Sacramento in the AAA Pacific Coast League, where he hit 29 homers and 28 doubles, posting a line of .269/.406/.537. That earned him a chance at the big leagues, where he played in 20 games with Oakland, hitting .250/.352/.417 at the age of 23.

2005 saw him spend almost the whole season with the A's, as his numbers were .236/.322/.446. Although his average was low, he had 21 home runs and 32 doubles. He spent 6 games back in Sacramento, with good numbers of .391/.462/.522.

He started fast in 2006, hitting 10 home runs in April with a .738 slugging percentage. He gave new teammate Frank Thomas some credit for his fast start, but things went a little down in May, when he still slugged .551, but then in June and July, his slugging average was under .340 each month. He finished the season with 35 home runs and a .493 slugging percentage. He also drew 97 walks, for a solid .372 OBP in spite of a middling .254 batting average, and he scored over 100 runs for the first time, with 106.

Swisher in Yankee pinstripes in 2009

In January of 2008, Swisher was dealt to the Chicago White Sox for Fautino De Los Santos, Ryan Sweeney and Gio Gonzalez. He spent one season in Chicago, falling out with manager Ozzie Guillen as he put up a poor batting average. By the time the ALDS came around, he was no longer a starter, having lost his job to journeyman Dewayne Wise. After the season, he was traded to the New York Yankees in return for infielder Wilson Betemit.

On April 13, 2009, Swisher pitched the 8th inning of a 15-5 blowout of the Yankees by the Tampa Bay Rays. Swisher pitched one inning in relief of Phil Coke. The inning consisted of a walk to B.J. Upton, a single to Willy Aybar, a strikeout of Gabe Kapler, a pop fly out to second base for Carlos Pena, and a fly out to center field by Pat Burrell. He was originally expected to share the Yankees' right field job with Xavier Nady, but Nady got hurt early in the year, while Swisher showed good power and plate discipline to claim the job full time. Still, his batting average started going down at the end of June and the Yankees acquired Eric Hinske from the Pittsburgh Pirates to give Swisher an occasional rest.

Swisher goes through an elaborate ritual before each pitch while batting. He will step in and out of the batter's box, tuck his sleeve, adjust his batting helmet, look skyward, tap the plate with his bat, then set up to wait for the pitch. All the gestures are accomplished in exactly the same order. The sequence helps him to focus, and forces the pitcher to slow down, messing up his timing.