Steve Swisher

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Steven Eugene Swisher

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Biographical Information[edit]

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[edit]

  • NL All-Star (1976)

Minor League Managerial Record[edit]

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

Related Sites[edit]