Tuesday, June 26, 2012

AND HE MIGHT NOT BE A YANKEE NEXT YEAR

A nice little article from Buster Olney on ESPN today. For those of us who forget that it's basically still a game, here's a guy who lives up to that notion.

I live in the New York area, but my 12-year-old had never been to a game at Yankee Stadium until Monday night. She loved the massive scoreboard and hated the foul balls that zoomed past us repeatedly on the left field side. And while she decided as a child to give her allegiance to the Boston Red Sox -- her Kevin Youkilis shirt is now outdated, I told her Monday morning -- she got a kick out of the exuberance of Nick Swisher. "I think he's my favorite player," she said as he ran off the field after the top of the eighth inning. Her response was directly related to his effort -- nothing more, nothing less.


By the eighth inning, the New York Yankees had control of the game against the Cleveland Indians, carrying a 7-0 lead. Hiroki Kuroda came out to start the inning with his pitch count at 100, with an outside chance at a shutout. Lonnie Chisenhall laced a ball into right-center field, a hit, and as he came out of the box, the Cleveland DH was thinking about taking second base.


But Swisher rushed into the alley, hustling to cut the ball off, and he fired back toward the infield, holding Chisenhall to a single.
In a perfect world, this is what Swisher and others should always do. But the reality is that this doesn't always happen, especially when the outcome is decided, as it was by the eighth inning last night. Sometimes players don't hustle, don't care enough.



But Swisher had scrambled after the ball and made a nice play, and at least one 12-year-old fan noticed.
Shin-Soo Choo doubled Chisenhall to third base, after Kuroda was relieved, and Asdrubal Cabrera hit a line drive toward right-center field -- and Swisher again rushed over to glove the ball, spin and fire toward the plate. Chisenhall hadn't tagged up, so the Yankees' shutout was intact, and the fans in Yankee Stadium cheered.
Swisher was challenged again. Jason Kipnis hit a ball to right field, Swisher made a nice catch, and Chisenhall tagged up and scored. But the baseball gods weren't through with Swisher yet: Carlos Santana lifted a long fly ball down the right field line, and Swisher raced toward the corner, catching the ball before he reached the padding along the line.
From the stands on the opposite side of the field, you could see Swisher laughing about his crazy half-inning, his exuberance filling the giant scoreboard as he jogged off and some of the fans in the park gave him a standing ovation.
Some opposing players and coaches -- and fans -- don't like Swisher because they think he's too expressive, too showy, and that some of what he does is for effect and nothing more.
All I can say is this: Swisher's energy level is the same four hours before a game as it is when the cameras are on. He is loud and boisterous for batting practice. He is grinning and waving his hands when you talk to him in the clubhouse. He wears the same big smile when he's chatting with a teammate alone in the runway that leads to the Yankees' dugout.
The guy loves to play and consistently competes with the same level of energy in the eighth inning of a forgettable June game as he would in the playoffs in October, and there is value in that. It might not be worth nearly as much as Stephen Strasburg's pure stuff or Joey Votto's ability to get on base or the defense that Adam Jones provides for the Baltimore Orioles.
But it's worth something. Ask Charlie Manuel, who arrives at the park every day knowing that Juan Pierre will be on the field 5½ hours before a game practicing his bunting or his throwing or his break from first base. Ask Jim Leyland, who knows that Justin Verlander will always be prepared and will always be in shape and will always take him through at least six innings. Ask Ron Washington, who knows that any effort to take Adrian Beltre out of the lineup might require some sort of argument, regardless of whether Beltre is limping or bruised.
Or ask a 12-year-old, who went to a ballgame and came away appreciating a ballplayer -- a member of a team she does not like -- because of the passion he played with and showed on her first trip to a big league park.

There should be more players like him. Let's hope the Yankee front office recognizes these intangibles.

CP-

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