Nick Swisher broke from his usual “Roll Call” salute to fans in the Yankee Stadium bleachers yesterday because Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports that he was “stung by jeers he heard from the home crowd” during Game 1 of the ALCS.
Here’s more from Swisher:
Swisher has played four years in New York and, based on those comments, apparently hasn’t noticed the Yankee Stadium crowd booing Alex Rodriguez on a semi-regular basis essentially that entire time.
Swisher added that he doesn’t like the personal attacks he’s heard within the boos:Last night was pretty big. A lot of people saying a lot of things that I’ve never heard before. Prime example: I missed that [12th-inning Delmon Young] ball in the lights, and the next thing you know, I’m the reason that Jeter got hurt. It’s kind of frustrating. They were saying it was my fault. ...
It hurts. Sometimes I’m a sensitive guy and some of the things people say, they get under your skin a little bit. I’ve been lucky to be here for the past four years, bro. We’re not going to go out like this. We’re going to go to Detroit and give everything we’ve got.
Blaming him for the Derek Jeter injury is silly, of course, but “I missed that ball in the lights” isn’t a magic wand that can be raised to remove all criticism, particularly considering Swisher is now hitting .167 in 45 career playoff games. He’s been terrible and the Yankee Stadium crowd, like many baseball crowds, often boos players who perform terribly. There’s not a whole lot else to it, although Swisher’s impending free agency does add an extra wrinkle.
I do, however, appreciate Swisher so perfectly fitting his reputation by including “bro” in his quote.