Nick Swisher New York Yankees (7/6/2002)

What’s your baseball philosophy?

Play hard; 110% everyday. This is probably one of the most frustrating sports out there. If you’re successful 3 out of 10 times, you’re fine and in the Hall of Fame. With today’s players it’s a lot different because there’s a lot of things that count for certain things and sometimes you just got to go out there and play 110%. If you don’t get the job done, you know there’s always going to be tomorrow.

What’s your hitting philosophy?

Gap to gap and let the hands fly. I’ve around pro ball since I was 6 years old. This is all I ever really wanted to do. Now that I’m getting the opportunity to do that, I want to take it full strap.

Your dad played?

Dad played ‘73 to ‘83. He was all-star selection in 1976. I was too young to remember but he coach in the minor leagues and things like that and I was always with him and always around. I carried around my little red Wiffle ball bat. Now that I’m here actually living the dream, it’s awesome.

What are your strengths?

Well, nothing really right now. I pretty much just love to play the game. I’m a centerfielder and first baseman. I have a little versatility, I hit from both sides, I run a little bit. I just think the basic thing for me is I love to play the game. I like coming to the park everyday, it’s the best time of my day. I’m loving every single second of it.

What did the scouts look for when they drafted you?

It’s got me beat. They must have saw something. I just appreciate them giving me the opportunity to be here and I’ll do the best I can. Hopefully, who knows how long, I may be playing in the major leagues one day.

What are your weaknesses? What are you working on right now?

Right now pitchers are a lot better at this level. Guys will spot up on certain pitchers, sliders, and curve balls, not only fastballs. They try to keep hitters off balance, things like that. I’m adjusting to that. I’m also adjusting to the fact that I’m using a wood bat rather than aluminum bat. Your swing can stay the same but the power numbers and things like that are a lot different. You know as well as I do with aluminum bats you can just flick one out of there. To hit one out with a wood bat you have to get all of it.  So for me right now I’m just trying to put the ball in play, go back up the middle, seeing what I see, and doing the best I can.

Pitchers set up hitters. Do you hitters set up pitchers?

Yeah I think you can. I think if you know certain pitchers they tip their pitches. They might follow the same sequence that they did the previous at bat. As a hitter that’s something you got to pick up on. A first pitch fastball away you might take it for a strike, and then he thinks well you might take this first pitch, so he may come back with that same pitch later and you have to be ready for it.

Does the fact that your dad having played in the major leagues, and obviously coaching you, give you a head start?

I think that gives me a big head start just for the fact that I know what it takes to get there. I know that you can’t just go on athletic ability; it’s got to be the way you play the game. You have to love to play the game day in and day out. I mean it’s a grind. I’m used to playing 56 games in a season, maybe you play 3 or 4 times a week. Then you come here and you play everyday. It’s a transition but I’m having fun with it and I’m glad to be here.

When you were drafted, did they give you a timetable of when they wanted you in the major leagues?

No, we never really talked about that. Just the fact that it was up to me. One of the hardest things is getting your foot in the door, and then you let your talent showcase from that. But for me time it’s a real big thing. I want to get up there as fast as I can. I think to do that you just got to go out and put up numbers and play the game hard everyday.

It seems at times that guys with all the talent don’t seem to go as far as guys with lesser talent. Do you think that’s true?

Well, I think the thing about it is some guys might take their athletic ability for granted, things like that. But I’ve been around and I’ve seen the guys that succeeded, and the guys that failed. I don’t want to be one of those guys that goes out there and just tries to go off of his athletic ability. I am a student of the game and I’ve got a lot to learn still. I’m 21 years old and I feel like I’m in no-man’s land sometimes. These guys have been around the game for a while and like I said, I’m just learning from what they do.

Do you look at the guys in your position on the major league level, like AAA and AA?

I never really looked at it. I know the Oakland Athletics have Terrence Long there right now but it doesn’t matter to me as long as I’m in the lineup somewhere. I could be behind the dish and it wouldn’t bother me. Just for me to be able to play the game everyday and have fun doing it is awesome.

Was it a shock when you heard that Carlos Pena got traded?

Yeah, that was. I didn’t really know that happened until we came to the ballpark today. I don’t even know what really happened with the trade. Best of luck to him, I never really met him but it’s a job so you got to keep things going and I’m sure he’ll be fine somewhere else.

Does it matter to you what happens at AA or AAA right now?

I haven’t really thought about that. I don’t really worry about that. I know I got to go out and do what I got to do today. I try not to worry about things that happen like that. If I’m worried about someone else doing something then I forget about what I have to do.

Does everybody else?

I don’t know. That’s a hard question because it’s a different philosophy. There’s been a good amount of first rounders throughout the years and that haven’t really done anything. There’s been a lot of first rounders that have actually gone and done something, so I just know I got to go out and play the game hard whatever happens, is going to happen.

What’s it like being the 16th pick overall, a first round pick, and the number one pick of the Oakland A’s, and now you’re down here with guys who spent three or four years here.

Yeah, it’s a phenomenal feeling. I think it was the biggest day of my life. Just for me to be able to share that with my family and my father. I think there are only two or three other father son combinations that have ever been the first round draft picks, and for him and me to be able to share that moment together, it was spectacular. Especially coming from a small town where I was never really given much of a chance coming out of high school. I just told myself that I got to go out and I’ve got to prove to myself and everyone else that I can play this game of baseball.

Did he ever talk about being a number one pick and how it would affect you at Single A?

He’s talked to me about things like that. But we never really talked about us being first rounders, because you know, first round, 22nd round, we’re all in the same locker room together. It doesn’t matter.

I mean how it relates to other guys?

Well I might be put under a little bit more of a microscope and things like that, but I am whom I am and I’m not going to change. I love to play the game. I consider myself more of a throwback type of player. Everyday I come out, play the game hard, and whatever happens is going to happen.

Describe the competition for your roster spot especially now that you’re trying to take one in AA while somebody is trying to take your spot?

It’s almost like a try-out everyday. You got to go out and prove yourself. Right now it’s a job and it doesn’t matter what slot draft pick you were or whatever. Everyone’s going out and trying to do the same thing. Everybody’s goal is to play in the major leagues as it is for me. So I’m really excited about being here and starting off, and you know whatever I can do to help the team, that’s what I’m here for.

How much film do you watch?

In college it was really hard because no one really had films of certain pitchers and things like that but for me just coming up it’s the first time I’ve ever seen these pitchers. Other guys have seen them a couple, two, three times maybe from last year as well so I think the biggest thing for me is I need to work on that. I need to get in the film room and watch my swing. See if my swing is a little long like that. So yeah it’s nothing I really did in college but you watch people like Tony Gwynn and Edgar Martinez, as successful as they’ve been I think watching film had a little bit to do with it.

Have you been injured before and how long were you out?

I played for Team USA this summer. I was there for one maybe two weeks and I had to leave because I had wrist surgery. For me being able to represent the United States playing in Japan was phenomenal, but for me to have to leave was definitely heart breaking. I had the opportunity and the way I felt that it was taken away from me because of the injury. There was nothing I could have done or anything like that but I think in the long run it helped me out.

How much does chemistry in the clubhouse affect a team?

Oh I think it has a lot to do with it. Having chemistry on the team is probably one of the reasons why the Yankees are so good, or things like that. Generally it’s known to happen to a young squad as well as the guys in here. The chemistry for me is good. You got a bunch of individuals trying to play a team game and that’s how baseball is. For all of us to be together, be in the same boat, I think we all have something we can relate to. We all want to play in the major leagues and for us to get there we have got to lean on each other.

What’s the difference between college and the pros?

College is more of a thing where you only had to get up a couple of times a week. You only had to get ready to play about 3 or 4 times a week. Now, with the competition level and things like that it’s an everyday grind. My father would always tell me that it was a grind and I never really understood what the grind was, but now I know. Playing 56 games in college and then another 60 games here, it’s an everyday thing. The biggest thing they stress to me is making sure you get your rest and things like that. The difference of college and pros is about a step, step and a half. All the pitchers are good. It’s almost like playing on the college all-stars. You know everybody’s good no matter where they’re from, or they wouldn’t be in this position. So for me to be a part of that I’m real excited.

What are some of the things you learned about pro sports that nobody told you about?

I think there are a lot of things that happen behind closed doors that no one really understands. That has a lot to do with it. Like I said this is a business. I mean it’s a job. It’s just like somebody working on Wall Street everyone’s fighting for the same thing, and I’m quickly understanding that if you don’t go out and do what you have to there’s somebody right behind you that’s going to come up and take your spot.

How much did your dad explain to you and how much did you have to learn on your own?

Well I think the thing of it is when people that haven’t done it try to explain it to you, it’s a lot different than someone that actually has. My father’s been there and he’s done that. I figure if I can do all the things that he did, then I should be in pretty good shape.

That’s definitely an advantage though.

It definitely is. I mean for him to be there and go through it, and now I’m going through it. The thing about it is that he would tell me certain things and I’d say, yeah, yeah, right, but everyday I get older, he gets smarter, and I can’t stand it. But for him to have been there and he has always stressed for me not to make the same mistakes he did. He’s been there and done that and now that I have somebody that I can actually relate to and listen to, it’s phenomenal.

How important is weight lifting?

Oh, weight lifting is changing the game of baseball, I think. I mean every athlete on the field is a physical specimen. If you take the old days compared to now pitchers are a lot stronger, throw a lot harder. As a whole hitters hit the ball a lot farther, a lot better throwing the ball around the infield, so I think that’s a huge thing, something that I’ve always done. When I was a freshman in high school I was 5′8″, 130 pounds. I was the littlest guy in the world and then I finally met Mr. Weight Room and I think it turned my life totally around.

What would you tell young kids in high school about pro baseball?

I’d say it’s awesome. The biggest thing for me is growing up in high school and then in college you have some guys that didn’t want to go on to the next level. For me I can’t believe that. Why would you want to play a game that you didn’t want to excel in or try to be the best at? A lot of people come up and said yeah your father’s pushing you to make you play baseball. I said, no. He’s told me whatever I was going to do, whether I was a band player, or whether I was a dentist or whatever be the best at it. I chose to be an athlete. Right now that’s all I’m trying to do. I’m trying to be the best. I’m busting my butt and like I’m saying it’s a big transition.

I’ll have to write that question down. It’s a good question to ask.

Yeah, it is, because you know kids nowadays they just think its all about money and things like that but it has a lot more to do with it especially things that happen behind closed doors. The camaraderie the team shares, things like that. It’s also a maturity thing. I consider myself very outgoing, sometimes a mature guy, and being around these older guys has really helped me out with that. Understanding that there’s a time to be quiet and then there’s a time to be loud and obnoxious, things like that. So for me I’m just having a great time up here. I’m glad to be here and I’m excited to get going.

Did you read the scouting reports about you?

No. I don’t every worry about statistics or anything like that. I know that if you go out and play the game hard good things are going to happen to you. You have certain people you call stat rats and things like that, but for me it doesn’t really bother me. I know I go out and play the game hard everyday and whatever is going to happen is going to happen.

Did you read anything about yourself after you got drafted? Like a description of you in Baseball America?

Yeah, I mean they’re just little blurbs and whatever, but that’s all words. That’s something that I have to live up to, live up to and do better. You have to make a name for yourself. I don’t want to be in the shadow of somebody. I don’t want to be considered to be somebody; I want somebody to be considered me. Ever since I’ve been a little kid, I always wanted to be that guy, to have my own baseball card and things like that. Right now I’m getting the opportunity to do that.

How about being a number one pick. Does that put more pressure on you?

No. It just happened to work out that way. I’m extremely excited about that but I love to play the game. I can’t say it enough, can’t stress it enough. Going out and playing the game hard everyday is what makes ball players. You take a guy like Mark Lemke who played for the Atlanta Braves, a hardnosed guy, and I’m sure there’s plenty others. He’s just the first one off the top of my head. He was a great baseball player. He played for gosh knows how many years and just went out and played the game hard. I think that can show that if you go out and play the game hard, you can make it.

Whether it’s your first round or 50th round, does it make any difference in how you play the game?

Not for me, maybe for other people but not for me.

How do you handle the fans, loud mouths and people yelling?

I love it. I thrive on that stuff. I know that if somebody’s yelling at me they think I’m pretty good. Even in college I would love it because we would go to certain places and they’d yell things like, “Hey Swisher” and things like that. For me that was the fun part. I had some of those fans and I feed off them. If they’re against me I’m right back against them because I want to prove something to them. When I’m at home with my girlfriend it’s the same thing.

How about the umpires? How do you handle the umpires?

I don’t worry about them. There here to do a job just like I am. They’re working on their game just as I am. So the thing is that we’re all together, we’re all trying to do the same thing, and I think for their part, they’re working on their game too. They got to start off somewhere just like we do so for them they’re in charge of the games. It’s their world. We’re just playing a game. Sometimes you might have to make an adjustment from here to there, but for all of us guys we understand that that’s how it is and we just have to go out and do what we have to do.

How about the brush backs, knockdowns and retaliation? How do you feel about those?

It’s definitely a lot different in college. I mean in college guys wouldn’t do things like that. But here in the pros it’s a lot different. I mean you show someone up somewhere you’re going to get plucked. So in way it’s a good thing but also some guys can hurt too. So whatever you do you got to back up your teammates so you got to do whatever you got to do. For me I think it’s a good thing in some ways, but in some ways it’s bad as well.

Is there anything I didn’t cover that you’d want someone to know about pro baseball?

Pro baseball is a great thing. I think the biggest thing about it is that it’s extremely frustrating. You’re just starting off and just getting into the flow of things. For all of us like I said we are all in the same boat trying to do the same thing as well as anyone that started off really young. I think the biggest thing if I can tell anybody, I would say keep the dreams alive because a lot of people say dreams don’t come true but I’ll tell you I’m living mine.