What a year it’s already been for R.J. Swindle. After failing to make it through spring training stints in two previous tries with the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, the former University High School baseball player made his major league debut in July with the Philadelphia Phillies.
He then went on to earn a roster spot with the Canadian Olympic team, with whom he’ll be representing on Friday morning as opening ceremonies take place in Beijing, China. Standing there will be a young man who understands how fortunate he has been during his short professional career. “There’s been a lot of trials and tribulations in my career, that’s for sure,” said the 25-year old, Vancouver-born southpaw.
After being drafted in the 14th round of the MLB Draft by the Red Sox out of Charleston Southern University, Swindle has gone on to put together an impressive career amid the minor and independent leagues. He graduated from CSU in 2005 after setting school records for wins and strikeouts and being named Big South Conference pitcher of the year in 2003, but has found little opportunity to prove himself on the biggest of stages.
It was a herniated disc in his back that led to the early release from his first team in ‘05, and it has since relegated him to a role of journeyman in the minors, albeit one who specializes in retiring left-handed batters. While bouncing between teams Swindle has compiled a career ERA of just 1.59 with 215 strikeouts in 186.2 innings of work. Despite those numbers the road to the big leagues for such an unorthodox pitcher can be a bumpy one.
Though it’s the norm for most fledgling ballplayers, the repeated reassignments and feelings of being overlooked can wear on most any player. For the local home-schooled kid it took a combination of patience and commitment to rise above. “It’s been a crazy ride,” he said of the past few years. “You’ve got to learn to expect it though in this game.” And he has. His first call-up by the Phillies lasted just two days while on the road in Atlanta.
His parents, who live in Chuluota, even made the trip in hopes of seeing him get the call from out of the bullpen. But that wouldn’t happen as he was quickly sent back down to the club’s Triple-A affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Ironpigs in Allentown, Pa. Little did he know that there would be another time and place for his first taste of big-league action.
On July 7, the day of his 25th birthday and one he calls an eye-opening experience, Swindle got the call during a lopsided loss at the hands of the New York Mets. “Some of the guys told me to just look around and take it all in,” he said of preparing to take the mound for the first time in front of 45,000 fans. “You’ve got to treat it just like any other game.” Even if he was able to talk himself into that at the time, he got another surprise as he approached the mound.
That’s where he stood toe-to-toe with New York’s David Wight as Carlos Beltron was due up next. Seeing those right-handers was not what he had envisioned his first big league experience to be. But there he was, in the sixth inning, giving up a home run to Wright, singles to both Beltron and Damion Easley, and recording his first career strikeout against lefty Carlos Delgado.
He showed off all five pitches in his arsenal during that first outing – a fastball that barely reaches the mid-80s, a slider, cutter, changeup and his signature curveball the crawls across the plate in the low-50s.
After allowing pitching veteran Pedro Martinez to single to center field and drive home a run before eventually getting out of the inning, he would pitch two more frames that night and improve with each at-bat.
That stay at the top didn’t last long, though. In three games against the Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks, he pitched 4.2 innings, allowed four runs, struck out four, walked two and went back to the minors with a 7.71 ERA. He can’t wait to get back there and give it another go. But for now his focus is squarely on the Olympics this month.
“The ultimate goal is to be in the big leagues, and I hope I get another chance at that in September, but this is a great opportunity,” he said of traveling to China. “I don’t even know what to expect, it’s as a good a stage as you can play on in any sport.” At least up to this point in his young career.
