Steve Swisher

Steven Eugene Swisher

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 205 lb.
• School Ohio University
• High School Parkersburg South High School
• Debut June 14, 1974
• Final Game September 26, 1982
• Born August 9, 1951 in Parkersburg, WV USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Steve Swisher was a catcher who had a nine-year career in the National League. He was a member of the All Star team in 1976. He is the father of Nick Swisher.

Swisher attended Ohio University, where he was an All-American. He was a first-round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 1973, playing briefly in 1973 for the Knoxville Sox of the Southern League and Iowa Oaks of the American Association, but was traded to the Chicago Cubs that December in a deal involving Ron Santo.

In 1974, he appeared in 52 games for the Wichita Aeros in the American Association, before coming up to the major league Cubs in June. He made it to the major leagues less than 365 days after he had first signed to play professional ball. He had his most major league at-bats, 377, in 1976, the year that Rick Monday hit 32 home runs, Bill Madlock hit .339, and Hall of Fame reliever Bruce Sutter was a 23-year-old rookie.

He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals and spent 1978 to 1980 there, backing up regular catcher Ted Simmons. In December 1980, he was traded to the San Diego Padres in a deal involving Rollie Fingers. He finished his career on the Padres in 1981 and 1982, where Terry Kennedy, who had been his teammate with the Cards, was the regular catcher.

Lifetime, he appeared in 509 major league games and had 1,414 at-bats.

He managed the Waterloo Indians in the Midwest League in 1985 and 1986. Between 1987 and 1993, he managed a variety of Double A and Triple A clubs, including Buffalo, Colorado Springs, Jackson, Tidewater and Binghamton. In 1992, with the Binghamton Mets, he was Manager of the Year in the Eastern League. From 1993 to 1996, he was a member of the New York Mets coaching staff. He also briefly managed New Orleans in Triple A in 1997. Swisher was the General Manager for the Ohio Valley Redcoats in 1997-1998.

He left baseball and in 2002 was the regional sales manager for an aluminum company. Swisher returned to the field as manager of the Reading Phillies in 2005.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (1976)

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1985	Waterloo Indians	Midwest League	67-73	7th	Cleveland Indians
1986	Waterloo Indians	Midwest League	78-62	3rd	Cleveland Indians	League Champs
1987	Williamsport Bills	Eastern League		--	Cleveland Indians		replaced by Orlando Gomez May 20
	Buffalo Bisons	American Association	53-46	5th	Cleveland Indians		replaced Orlando Gomez (13-28) May 20
1988	Colorado Springs Sky Sox	Pacific Coast League	62-77	8th	Cleveland Indians
1989	Jackson Mets	Texas League	61-74	7th	New York Mets
1990	Tidewater Tides	International League	79-67	3rd	New York Mets
1991	Tidewater Tides	International League	77-65	3rd	New York Mets
1992	Binghamton Mets	Eastern League	79-59	2nd	New York Mets	League Champs
1993	Binghamton Mets	Eastern League	68-72	5th	New York Mets
1997	New Orleans Zephyrs	American Association	1-3	--	Houston Astros	--	replaced by Matt Galante (73-67) on April 11
2005	Reading Phillies	Eastern League	69-73	8th	Philadelphia Phillies