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OF Nick Swisher (All Star, World Series Champion)

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Nick Swisher plays pepper with Playbook
July, 18, 2012
By Thomas Neumann | ESPN.com

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Elsa/Getty Images
Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher is wonderfully blessed with massive enthusiasm and boundless love.

Nick Swisher is perhaps the most exuberant player in the major leagues.

Brimming with confidence and enthusiasm, the Yankees outfielder is extremely popular among teammates and extremely unpopular among opponents. He?s an ebullient spark plug, the kind of player who makes Yankees fans exult and opposing fans curse.

He was the first pick of the Athletics in the "Moneyball" draft of 2002. After four seasons in Oakland and one with the White Sox, he won a World Series with the Yankees in 2009 and appeared in the All-Star Game the following year. Prior to his professional career, Swisher was twice named first team All-Big Ten at Ohio State.

Swisher spoke with ESPN Playbook about Red Sox fans, music and the pressure of playing in New York while making the rounds promoting the Head & Shoulders Mane Man Challenge. Here's what transpired:

Playbook: You were a standout football player as a safety at Parkersburg (W.Va.) High. Which colleges were recruiting you?

Swisher: I had a whole heap of football letters, but I didn?t have too many baseball letters. More than anything, I was a monster Notre Dame fan growing up. To be able to get that Notre Dame recruiting letter was by far one of my favorite things.

Why did you choose to pursue baseball at Ohio State instead of football after high school?

I went on my first recruiting trip to West Virginia, right there in my back yard. I wanted to check it out and see what it was all about. ... I went to a game and walked into the locker room after the game. I?d never seen guys that big in my life. So we walked in, and I looked at my dad and said, ?That baseball thing is looking really good right about now.?

Which team do you dislike more -- the Boston Red Sox or the Michigan Wolverines?

I think I?m gonna have to say the Michigan Wolverines. More than anything, I?m such a rivalry guy. I love those rivalry games. ... I love to see Ohio State play Michigan. I think that?s what it?s all about, because in those rivalry settings you can throw records out the window. Because you?re going to get the best of both teams every single time you play.

How are Yankees fans different from Red Sox fans?

I guess I?m a little biased in saying that I think our fan base is a lot stronger. I get to run out to right field every single day in Yankee Stadium. We?ve got our Bleacher Creatures. You can feel that love when you take that field, man. It?s an amazing thing. No offense to Red Sox fans ? they have a great following as well ? but that Yankees Universe, in my opinion, is unmatched.

You were named the third-most hated player in baseball in a recent poll of 100 major leaguers -- behind only A.J. Pierzynski and Alex Rodriguez. What do your peers have against you?

Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. That?s not really something I stress a lot about. I know what I bring to the table, and I?m just going to continue to go out there and keep being myself.

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http://espn.go.com/blog/playbook/fandom/post/_/id/6526/nick-swisher-plays-pepper-with-playbook

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13VKLyteFcU"]MLB: Nick Swisher on Sabathia's return, pitching staff - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Swisher makes his return to lineup
July, 29, 2012
By Matt Ehalt | ESPNNewYork.com

Nick Swisher is back in the lineup for the first time in more than a week, as he'll be the designated hitter and bat fifth Sunday night against the Red Sox. The right fielder, who is battling a strained left hip flexor, pinch-hit on Saturday and was last in the starting lineup on July 20.

(Swisher went 2-for-4 in the Yankees' 3-2 loss, with a pair of singles and two strikeouts.)

"It's exciting," Swisher said. "I'm the type of guy that I'm not a big fan of missing games, so whenever I can be back in there doing what I can to help the team, I want to be in there."

Swisher missed six straight games with this injury. He had hoped to return to the lineup Saturday, but manager Joe Girardi opted to give him an extra day of rest. Swisher suffered the injury while trying to beat out a grounder in the seventh inning of a 3-2 loss to Oakland.

Girardi said he wanted to ease Swisher back into things, and wants to see how he comes out of this game before making any determinations on when Swisher will be back in the field, although he said it could be as early as Monday against Baltimore. Swisher said his hip feels "great" and he hopes to keep feeling better.

"I think anytime you're dealing with strains and things like that, I think you're on that fence of whether it can be a week or it could be, if you play through it, maybe two, three, four weeks," Swisher said. "I appreciate the fact these guys are looking out for me. They want me for the long run. But on the other side I want to get back in there, I want to do my thing. I love playing this game so any time I get a chance to get in there I'm enjoying it."

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http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/40866/swisher-makes-his-return-to-lineup
 
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Notebook: Swisher's 'great two days'
August, 13, 2012

On Sunday night, Nick Swisher's wife, JoAnna Garcia, had her new sitcom, "Animal Practice," air in the prime spot after the NBC's presentation of the Olympics' closing ceremonies. On Monday, Swisher hit home run No. 200, a grand slam, and enjoyed it immensely, smiling and styling around the bases. For good measure, he added an RBI single for a five-RBI night.

"It's been a great two days," Swisher said.
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http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/yankees/post/_/id/42229/notes-swisher-chavez-a-rod
 
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Commentary
October thunder the key for Swisher
Free agent making his case to stay a Yankee, but it won't matter if he fails this fall
Updated: August 18, 2012
By Wallace Matthews | ESPNNewYork.com

Swisher's Two Homers Propel Yanks

White lightning struck Yankee Stadium on Friday night, not once but twice, and it had nothing to do with the stormy weather.

It had everything to do with Nick Swisher and his new bats, which arrived at the ballpark a couple of hours before the game and were immortalized by the man himself a few minutes after it ended.

"I call them white lightning," the ever-ebullient Yankees right fielder said after the Bombers used five solo home runs, two of them by Swisher, and one RBI single to beat the Red Sox 6-4 in the first game of a three-game series. "Or the white bombers. I'm not sure yet. I haven't decided on a nickname."

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Brad Penner/US PRESSWIRE
If Nick Swisher doesn't bring the noise in October, he'll be going, going, gone.

Swisher was basking in the glow of full awesomeness after his multihomer performance, a game in which he had homered from both sides of the plate for the 12th time in his career, a number exceeded in baseball history by only one player -- his teammate Mark Teixeira.

"I feel like [I've] been chasing Tex for a long time," Swisher said. "That's one cool thing being a switch hitter, because it's rare you feel good from both sides of the plate at the same time."

Swisher's feeling it now and has been for the past 10 games or so, ever since Joe Girardi dropped the slumping Curtis Granderson in the batting order and slid Swisher into the No. 2 hole.

Since then, Swisher has batted .333 (14-for-42) with four home runs and 14 RBIs.

"I don't think that's it," Swisher said of the batting order. "I feel like everybody's trying to make a big deal about that second spot, but I'm just trying to be a little more selective, get some pitches to hit. I feel like I'm getting my pitch and I'm not missing. I felt for a couple of weeks like I was getting my pitch and I was fouling it off. I just feel like I'm just having fun. I'm stress-free right now."

That last sentence might be the key to the whole thing.

You see, Nick Swisher is in the final year of a contract and there is no guarantee he will be a Yankee next season.

In fact, if I were a betting man, I would take the odds that Swisher ends up in another uniform for 2013.

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http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/sto...determine-nick-swisher-stays-new-york-yankees
 
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Red-hot Swisher will be expensive proposition for Yankees
Last Updated: August 20, 2012

Nick Swisher just enjoyed a dream week as far as his free agency is concerned.

In the Yankees? seven games before last night, Swisher went 12-for-29 (.414) with four homers and 12 RBIs. He not only had a lot of hits, but a bunch of huge, game-shifting hits. That will not completely counteract his anti-clutch reputation (since that is based mainly on the playoffs), but he does now actually lead the Yankees in OPS with runners in scoring position (.936).

And ? beyond his control ? his long-term finances received enhancement when Melky Cabrera was suspended 50 games for a positive test for testosterone. Cabrera was the only other high-end, switch-hitting corner outfielder projected on the free-agent market besides Swisher. Now Cabrera will be fortunate to get even a one-year deal for a small amount of guaranteed money, leaving the marketplace more fiscally fertile for Swisher.
MONEY MAKER: The way Nick Swisher has been ripping the ball lately means the Yankees right-fielder will clean up in free agency, making it much less likely the club will shell out big bucks to bring him back on a long-term deal.

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N.Y. Post: Charles Wenzelberg
MONEY MAKER: The way Nick Swisher has been ripping the ball lately means the Yankees right-fielder will clean up in free agency, making it much less likely the club will shell out big bucks to bring him back on a long-term deal.

The Yankees almost certainly will give the one-year, approximately $13.3 million tender (average of the top 125 salaries in the sport) to Swisher, which, if he leaves assures draft-pick compensation. Of course, the Yankees would love for Swisher to accept, enabling them to pay him a reasonable rate for just 2013 and avoid a long-term commitment that would further complicate their mandate to get under the $189 million luxury-tax threshold for 2014.

But there is almost no way Swisher will accept. He did not change to high-powered representative Dan Lozano last year to do a one-year deal in free agency. Swisher can probably expect no less than $13 million a year on a three- or four-year pact. So why agree to a one-year deal at that amount?

The question, though, is if the Yankees should be the team to commit those long-term dollars. The common theory is the Yankees are going to try to shoehorn multi-year deals for Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson ? both free agents after the 2014 season ? into those $189 million strictures. That remains the strong, strong likelihood for their direction.

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Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/wish_list_sRtwTs2FbwBo9DEsSwIX2H#ixzz248Y8NJOc
 
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Swisher's passion for the game is always evident
By Zack Meisel / MLB.com | 08/30/12

Nick Swisher rounded first base, his head swiveled 90 degrees as he surveyed the trajectory of the ball he just swatted.

Once it cleared the wall in right-center field, he leapt in the air, clapped his hands together and shouted before easing into a steady trot. Swisher's two-run homer vaulted New York to a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning last Friday against the Indians.

"I get excited," Swisher said. "I'm an emotional guy. My heart's on my sleeve. In a situation like that, we had just gone through a rough patch in Chicago last series. We come here, it's 1-1 in the seventh, we go up. I'm excited, man, you know?"

Two frames later, he nearly added to the Yankees' lead. This time, though, when Indians right fielder Shin-Soo Choo corralled the fly ball in front of the wall, Swisher stopped in his tracks short of second base, peered at first-base coach Mick Kelleher and motioned with his thumb and index finger how close he was to a second consecutive long ball. The anguish on his face painted the portrait of a man disappointed in the outcome, but appreciative of the opportunity to earn that chance to produce.

"He's his own thing," said Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson. "Everyone sees it and notices it and takes it. You don't see other guys with the same type of energy."

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http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120830&content_id=37591506&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb
 
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Nick Swisher hopes for a happy end to his Yankees career
Published: Saturday, October 06, 2012
By Jeff Bradley/Star-Ledger Baseball Writer

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(Perlman)William Perlman/The Star-Ledger
Nick Swisher raises his arms in celebration after the Yankees beat the Red Sox to cement their AL East division title.

BALTIMORE ? To look at the faces of the Yankees in the immediate afterglow of their American League East championship ? secured on the final day of the regular season ? was to see a rare display of raw emotion. Jubilation. Relief. Pride. It was all out in the open.

But for one player, strangely, it looked just like any other day at the ballpark. However, this wasn?t a player holding his poker face. This was Nick Swisher, as excited as any other Yankee, but looking pretty much the same way he looks on any other day during the season. The only thing different was that he was drenched in champagne.

?I don?t think we?ve ever had another personality like his,? said general manager Brian Cashman. ?It?s real. This guy really loves life. I wish everybody could be that way.?

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http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2012/10/nick_swisher_hopes_for_a_happy.html

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhVt8gUKGD0"]Martin, Swisher celebrate - YouTube[/ame]
 
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Swisher is upset with Yankee Stadium fans and the negativity in the air; "It hurts,'' he said
By Jon Heyman | Baseball Insider
October 14, 2012

NEW YORK ? Nick Swisher is used to being beloved by the home crowd at Yankee Stadium. The man didn't get to 1.5 million twitter followers on his RBI alone.

So, this postseason has been quite a bit disconcerting for Swisher, who is hearing a lot of boos from the home fans. Curtis Granderson might be hearing a bit more and, of course, Alex Rodriguez is the clear clubhouse leader in terms of both boos and struggling Yankees.

All three players, plus Robinson Cano, who started to hear some disapproval of his own after his cold streak hit 0 for 26, are having startlingly bad postseasons at the plate. But Swisher has enjoyed an especially close relationship with the Bleacher Creatures and other fans here, and he's quite surprised. He isn't pleased about any of them being booed ... but he seems surprised more than anything.

?It hurts,'' Swisher said. ?Sometimes, I'm a sensitive guy.''

The crowd has been surprisingly tough, and it's getting tougher as the postseason has progressed. But Swisher is taking it especially hard. He even suggested the crowd's response may not be helping. He's 4 for 26.

?I'm one of those guys, you give me a hug and I run through a wall for you,'' Swisher said after the Yankees' 3-0 defeat in Game 2 left them behind the Tigers two-zip in games. ?It's tough, it's really tough.''

Other Yankees weren't as animated or upset about the negative reaction. And in fact, A-Rod, who's much more used to boos, said, ?I'm right there with them.'' Rodriguez also said he wasn't especially surprised. ?We haven't scored a run in a long time!'' he pointed out.

But Rodriguez did wonder whether ?a change of scenery'' might help. It could be ?a breath of fresh air,'' he said.

Swisher said he couldn't believe a few of the things he's heard, especially from the friends and creatures he's grown close to. One was, ?Give the money back!'' Another was, ?This is your last game at Yankee Stadium.''

The worst was last night when he was accused by one fan of causing Derek Jeter's devastating ankle injury. ?I lost that ball in the lights, and the next thing I knew was it's my fault Derek got hurt,'' Swisher said. Jeter was hurt on the play after Delmon Young's double in Swisher's direction when Jhonny Peralta hit a grounder to Jeter's left. It's absurd to blame Jeter's injury on Swisher, anyway, but for the record, there weren't two outs when Swisher missed Young's hit.

"It's a negative outing, a negative setting,'' Swisher said.

As far as whether this could be his last hurrah as a Yankee, that does seem pretty likely for the free agent, no matter what happens this postseason. The Yankees want to reduce their payroll to below $189 million for 2014, and with them needing to prioritize, it seems that there is not likely to be room for him.

Swisher carried a history of postseason struggles into this October, which doesn't help. He has only seven career postseason RBI in 177 at-bats. Word has been Swisher might seek a Jayson Werth type contract this winter, which means $126 million over seven years, but the Yankees wouldn't go anywhere near that. One competing GM said $39 million for three years might be reasonable for Swisher, who makes $10.25 million this year.

The Yankees have planned to make a qualifying offer in the new system for him, which is expected to be around $13.5 million. They probably still will do so, but it might be under the expectation he would decline the offer since there's sure to be some clubs willing to offer him a nice multiyear deal.

He's had a great run in New York. But he's clearly sad about the way things are turning out. ?You want to play for a team. You want to play for a city,'' he said.

He still recalls it's been a great ride. Or, as he put it, ?I've been kicking to be here the past four years.''

Swisher needs a big turnaround to finish out his career here on an up note. But Swisher, ever the optimist, did have a nice thought about the potential ending.

?We're not going to go out like this,'' he said.
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http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/j...nd-the-negativity-in-the-air-it-hurts-he-said
 
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Nick Swisher might have played his last game as a Yankee
Originally published: October 18, 2012
By ANTHONY RIEBER [email protected]

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Photo credit: AP | Nick Swisher throws down his helmet after striking out to end the third inning during Game 4 of the ALCS against the Detroit Tigers. (Oct. 18, 2012)

DETROIT -- The Yankees scored one run Thursday. It was driven in by Nick Swisher with a sixth-inning double. It was Swisher's second hit with runners in scoring position in his postseason career.

It also was his 36th at-bat with runners in scoring position in his postseason career.

That probably is one of the reasons why Thursday's 8-1 loss to the Tigers in Game 4 of the ALCS likely will turn out to be Swisher's final game as a Yankee.

Swisher, 31, will be a free agent once the World Series is over; the Yankees are not expected to bring him back. A productive regular-season player, Swisher has a career batting average of .169 in 154 postseason at-bats.

A fan favorite at Yankee Stadium for most of his time with the Yankees, Swisher may have alienated even his most ardent boosters with comments the other day about how disappointed he was when fans booed him because of his postseason struggles.

Asked after Game 4 if he wants to return to the Yankees, he said: "Absolutely."

He called his four Yankees seasons "awesome, bro. Absolutely awesome, bro. Best place in the word to play, absolutely."

About his contract, he said: "I'll talk about all that stuff later . . . There's a lot of uncertainties with a lot of guys in here and this could be the last time this team's ever together. We wanted to try and go out with a bang and do it our way, but it just didn't work out."

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http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseb...ve-played-his-last-game-as-a-yankee-1.4131258
 
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Nick Swisher to test free agency
Updated: November 9, 2012
By Andrew Marchand | ESPNNewYork.com

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees have three more holes to fill this offseason as starter Hiroki Kuroda, closer Rafael Soriano and right fielder Nick Swisher did not accept the team's $13.3 million, one-year qualifying offers.

"I'm not surprised whatsoever," Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said. "I expected it."

Under the new collective bargaining agreement, the Yankees will receive a first-round pick if the players sign with another club during free agency. The Yankees are still eligible to retain all three, but are expected only aggressively to pursue Kuroda. The players had until 5 p.m. ET Friday to officially decide.

"I like the fact that we can continue dialogue with everybody that we would like to and still be in position to gain draft picks as a worst-case scenario, which would benefit our farm system as we move forward," Cashman said.

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http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/sto...er-declines-new-york-yankees-qualifying-offer
 
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