Nick Swisher: Bring Your Wrigley Bat Home to the Ted

Nick Swisher had a great Atlanta Braves debut with a terrific unassisted inning-ending double play followed by a clutch two-RBI double in the Braves 7-2 victory over the Miami Marlins on August 8th.

-= Atlanta Braves Swept By Cubs, Lose 7th Game In A Row =-

However, Nick’s productivity waned in the next several games, going 2-22 at an .091 clip before 1B Freddie Freeman came off the Disabled List on August 19th. The usually strong switch hitter has not had a great 2015 campaign between the Cleveland Indians and the Atlanta Braves, hitting around the Mendoza line in both leagues. Perhaps NL pitchers no more about Nick Swisher, a career American Leaguer before coming to Atlanta, than we anticipated.

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But the yearly trip to Wrigley Field seems to have been great for Swish, as Nick went 6-10 with 2 homers and 6 RBI’s at the Friendly Confines. Wrigley Field is a special place for Nick Swisher as his dad Steve Swisher played his best seasons for the Chicago Cubs from 1974 to 1977. Will Nick bring his hot piece of lumber home to Turner Field when the Colorado Rockies come to town?

Admittedly, the balls were flying out of Wrigley at an uncomfortably alarming pace, reminiscent to teenagers playing home run derby on a coach-pitch field back in suburbia. However, I wouldn’t classify either of Swish’s homers as ‘basket freebies’. The first one of Saturday landed well over the wall in center field and the second mashed off the left field scoreboard in yesterday’s contest. Though I don’t expect Nick Swisher to homer multiple times against the Rockies this week, he’s been making very solid contact with the baseball the last few days. Hopefully it continues back in Atlanta.

It puzzled me why Braves Manager Fredi Gonzalez didn’t start Swisher in all four games at Wrigley this weekend, as he has hit well at the Friendly Confines during his Major League Career (he used to play on the South Side for the White Sox several years ago). I wasn’t expecting Swisher to play at first base, but he could have played left or right in every ball game, implementing a true four-man rotation in the Braves outfield.

-= Nick Markakis: A Quietly, Healthy, Productive Year =-

There weren’t many positive takeaways from this road trip to say the very least, but maybe Nick Swisher has slightly adjusted his approached at the plate under Braves Hitting Coach Kevin Seitzer‘s watch. Things are paying off for Swish and I hope he gets some more opportunities to play at home against the Colorado Rockies.

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