Since this was the day back in 2008 that the New York
Yankees traded for Nick Swisher and since it’s Throwback Thursday I figured why
not take a look back at our Meet a Prospect post for Swisher. Enjoy.
Nick Swisher was born on
November 25th 1980 in Columbus Ohio. Swisher is the son of former catcher Steve
Swisher who played in carious National League teams in parts of the 70's
and 80's. After his parents divorced when he was 11 years old he went to live
with his grandmother, who he claims to be the closest person to him. Swisher
honors his grandparent, who are now both passed away, by looking up into the
sky before every single pitch. We all in Yankee land and The Greedy Pinstripes
thank her for that because without her we might not have had Nick Swisher to be
talking about in our next edition of Meet a Prospect, the special edition.
Swisher
was a two sport star in Parkersburg High School, where he played both football
in baseball and Swisher also lettered in basketball. After being recruited as a
Strong Safety by many team, including Notre Dame, he decided to quit football
and pursue his baseball career. He was not selected in the draft after his high
school years so Swisher decided to go to College at Ohio State University.
At Ohio State he was
named Big 10 Freshmen of the Year in 2000 and was a All Big 10 selection in his
Sophomore season of 2001 while leading the league with 15 home runs. After his
college career he was drafted by the Oakland A's in the first round of the 2002
MLB First Year Players draft using a compensation pick for losing Johnny Damon
in free agency. Swisher was the first draft class that the popular term
"money ball" was used in as Swisher was one of the few players that
sabermetric heads and traditional scouts could agree on.
Swisher had a minor
league career that was pretty much run of the mill to be completely honest. His
own shining star was his 102 walks, which led the league, in the 2005 minor
league season. Swisher made his major league debut in September of 2004.
Swisher has done okay as
a major leaguer with his shining achievement being his World Series ring he now
wears from the Yankees 2009 World Series team and his sole all-star selection
in 2010 for the Yankees. He also married television Actress, and hottie (see in
Yankees wives and girlfriends section of the site), Joanna Garcia. All the time
he still had time to have his own foundation called "Swish's Wishes",
which I highly recommend everyone check out, that helps children who are facing
medical crises.