Nick Swisher’s outgoing personality makes him a magnet for adulation. But forgetting the salute, smile and championship pile, Swisher didn’t leave fans with a lot of memories on the field at Yankee Stadium last season, where he batted .226. Now, two months into his second season with the Yankees, Swisher looks at home playing in his home.
Swisher, who helped the Yankees to a 9-1 victory last night over the Orioles with a two-run ground-rule double in the second inning, improved his average at the Stadium this year to .312, going 3-for-5 with three RBI’s.
“It’s kind of been like this for a little bit,” Swisher said. “I just think, ‘Hey man, let’s get in the box and take a good swing on something.'”
“Whether you get a hit or you don’t that’s not the point,” he said. “The point is going to the plate with the right mindset to get yourself in the position where you can make a good swing on a pitch.”
Swisher is batting .462 during the six games of the current homestand, rolling over his career-best month to the next calendar page, after batting .374 in May. His season average sits at .320, up from .236 at this point last year.
“I’d say it’s a different feeling from last year,” Swisher said. “I just think it’s the total approach in general. I feel that I’m better equipped to go into battle. This offseason was a big offseason for me. I did a lot of transforming of a lot of things and it’s paying off. I feel more confident in the box. I think it’s that inner-want to achieve that I feel that I have right now.”
From his first day as a Yankee, few people have looked more comfortable than Swisher. The fun-loving, free-spirit was an invaluable member of last year’s championship team, but on the field, Swisher was not nearly as relaxed as he appeared.
“I was more nervous than anything,” Swisher said about his arrival to New York last season. “I think when I got here I just wanted to do so well. It’s New York City. It’s the New York Yankees. I wanted to come out here and come out with a bang and do the best I could, but that didn’t happen for me early last year.”
Like everything else in life, what’s made Swisher’s success so substantial this year is timing.
This season, he is batting .376 with runners on base and .455 with runners in scoring position with two outs.
“I think it’s just trying to quiet everything down,” Swisher said. “It’s so funny. People always laugh because I’m talking about being quiet. That’s kind of the approach because that’s something I’ve always had to fight. It’s just being so hyper. Now, I feel that I’m trying to have that controlled aggression.”