The Braves announced they had acquired right fielder and first baseman Nick Swisher from the Cleveland Indians on Aug. 8. Swisher suited up for the Braves that night against the Miami Marlins. He went 1 for 3 with a two-run double and turned a diving grab at first base into an unassisted double play in a 7-2 win.
The Braves won only three more games the rest of the month and endured a 1-19 run that stretched into September.
“Hopefully, we learned a lot from that,” Swisher recalled during a Saturday interview session at FanFest at Turner Field. “Getting your butt kicked every night is not a lot of fun. For me, last year was a very disappointing season for a lot of people. The ship … really, really need to turn that around, because last year was definitely not the type of team that this organization shows.”
For Swisher, the difficult losing stretch in Atlanta capped what had been a frustrating, injury-plagued two seasons. The charismatic veteran said the offseason was “too long” but treated him well health-wise.
“Now, this is my year to get back and show everyone what I can still do,” he said.
The Braves are the sixth team of Swisher’s 10-year career, but he said he has never been a part of rebuilding process to the degree that is taking place in Atlanta.
“I think what we have is a great mix of young guys, great mix of veteran guys,” Swisher said. “We have that conversation all the time whether fun causes winning or winning causes fun, but either way you got to have a little bit of both.”
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