Nick Swisher delivered his signature salute to Yankee Stadium’s right-field bleacher fans after soaking up a personal roll call in the first inning.
So much was the same, but so much had changed in the seven-plus months since Swisher last had seen them.
He stood at first base. He wore “Cleveland” across his chest. And unbeknownst to him, it was the second salute of the night, following Lyle Overbay’s theft of his trademark move in right field.
“Oh, did he? He’s trying to steal my thing, huh?,” Swisher said while laughing. “That’s alright.”
Returning to Yankee Stadium last night for the first time this season, for the first time as a visitor in nearly five years, Swisher was flooded with memories.
Bro, he was as stoked as ever.
“It’s super exciting to be back here a couple days,” Swisher said before going 0-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and a run in the Indians’ 7-4 loss to the Yankees. “Just that atmosphere, that was a great thing to be a part of. Just being part of the whole tradition, obviously winning the World Series in ’09 was pretty cool. I just think the mystique of being a Yankee was so great and something I was so proud to be a part of.”
When Swisher had last played in The Bronx, his four seasons as a fan favorite had taken a sharp turn into the unfamiliar.
After the Yankees’ loss in Game 2 of last year’s ALCS against the Tigers, Swisher discussed how hurt he was to have been booed by fans while having another putrid postseason. Last night, Swisher said the incident couldn’t diminish how excited he was to see the Creatures.
“Oh man, live in the now, bro,” Swisher said. “That was something that happened so long ago, I thought we kind of handled that and squashed that. I know my time here was just absolutely amazing, and I hope it was for them as well.”
The fans mended the right-field fence with a lengthy ovation in Swisher’s first at-bat in the first inning, stretched out longer after he waved to the crowd and stepped out of the batter’s box, showcasing the smile that helped make him so popular.
“I kind of had to catch myself,” Swisher said. “This place was so great to me. It was great to see everybody. It’s been a long time since I’ve been back here, but to be able to come back and the ovation I got, really, it was great.”
With the Yankees wanting to trim salary and unwilling to offer Swisher a multi-year deal, the 32-year-old signed a four-year, $56 million deal with the Indians — which could increase to $70 million with a fifth year — and has helped a team that won just 68 games last season to a 30-27 record, hitting .258 with seven home runs and 21 RBIs.
Swisher said not being able to return to the Yankees was “harder than most things [he’s] done in [his] life,” but he understood it.
Besides, he never forgot how bad things once were — after hitting a career-worst .219 in 2008 with the White Sox — and how one minor offseason trade turned it all around.
“I couldn’t thank my boy Brian Cashman any more,” Swisher said. “He helped me out a lot, especially after that ’08 season. That was such a bad year. For him to have that much faith in me to come over, obviously every time I took the field I wanted to do my best.”