Major League Baseball players love to daydream about being a New York Yankee, wearing the Pinstripes, and playing under the bright lights in the big city, until they actually have to do it.
Time after time we see many a major league ball player crumble under the pressure of playing in Yankees Stadium.
Yankees outfielder Nick Swisher is about to joined that disappointing list of guys who couldn’t cut it in New York.
Swisher is struggling through his fourth post season slump and the constant boos are having an effect on him now.
The New York Daily News is reporting that Swisher is especially frustrated about insensitive tweets regarding his wife actress JoAnna Garcia, and comments from angry fans who say that he is the reason captain Derek Jeter broke his ankle.“As the game progresses, you’re trying to go up there and get a hit. If you don’t, people let you know about it.”It’s a tough spot. Hey man, I guess that’s playing in New York… That’s New York for you.“It’s a crazy game. Being here in New York, obviously there’s a lot of expectations. I don’t know what to say, bro. I’m just going to kind of let it go.”
“(Saturday) night was pretty big. A lot of people saying a lot of things that I’ve never heard before,” Swisher said. “Prime example – I missed that ball in the lights and the next thing you know, I’m the reason that (Derek) Jeter got hurt. It’s kind of frustrating. They were saying it was my fault.”Swisher will be a free agent this off-season, and usually has a pregame routine he does with a group called the “bleacher creatures,” but Swisher uncharacteristically skipped that process on Sunday.
Swisher again spoke about shocked he was by the fans treatment.
“That’s the last thing that I ever thought would be in this ballpark, that people would get on you that bad.”Swisher left out the fact that he’s 1-34 with runners in scoring position in his post season career.
“Especially your home, where your heart is, where you’ve been battling and grinding all year long. It’s just frustrating, man. You never want to be in that spot. It’s not like you’re trying to go out there and do bad on purpose. It’s just tough, man.
“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.”
Right now he sounds like someone who can’t wait to play a few playoff games in Detroit.
“Maybe, man. I’ve been so fortunate to be here and play every day. When things kind of turn like that, it kind of hurts a little bit,” Swisher said. “This is the type of city and crowd that really rallies around their team. That’s the reason we’ve got 27 championships. To go through a stretch like this where it’s kind of a negative attitude, a negative type setting, that’s tough. But hey, that’s part of the game. Rightfully so. There are a lot of expectations here and I guess when you don’t get the job done, you’re going to hear about it.The Nick Swisher era will mercifully come to and end soon, and this off-season some other daring major league star will see dollar signs in his eyes, and think he can make it in Pinstripes.
“I’m one of those guys that if you give me a hug, I’ll run through a brick wall for you, man. It just seems right now like there’s just a lot of… I’m trying to find a way to word this the right way. . . . It’s tough. It’s really tough. You want to go out and play for your city, play for your team. Right now, it’s just really tough.”
Good luck whoever you are.
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