The Nick Swisher era may have come to an end in New York. If so it didn't finish the way any Yankee fan would have wanted it to. An embarrassing four game sweep at the hands of the Detroit Tigers is not the lasting impression any player wants. The one bright spot for Swisher is that he drove in the Yankees only run in his final game.
Swisher is a free agent so it is up to him where he ends up and he hasn't said that the Yankees are his first choice. Meanwhile the Yankees haven't shown their hand either, but it looks like they are willing to let Swisher walk.
In his four years in New York Swisher had a batting average .268 with an average of 26 home runs and 87 runs batted in per year. Those are solid but not spectacular numbers. In the field he is decent, not counting his atrocious play in the American League Championship Series.
As much as I like Swisher's upbeat personality I think the Yankees should let him walk away. The Yankees could use some more speed in the everyday lineup and right field would be one of the few places that the Yankees could change personnel.
Plus just take a quick look at Swisher's postseason numbers and you may see that he isn't cut out for the New York spotlight. He has an average of just .161 in eight postseason series with the Yankees. You might be able to forgive that if you were getting some thump for your money, but he only has four home runs in 130 at bats.
The Yankees proved this postseason that plodding power hitters don't always work in the playoffs. When you are facing the best pitchers they simply make fewer bad pitches that you can blast over the wall. The Yankees need to manufacture more runs, so a speedy contact hitting right fielder suits their needs more. It is time to say goodbye to Nick Swisher. Thanks for four fun years and best of luck in the rest of your career, unless you sign with the Red Sox then I hope you have a repeat of your horrible 2008 season.
Darren Pare is a third generation Yankees fan. The unique thing is that he lives in the middle of Red Sox nation, Maine, and has for all his life and that gives him a different perspective. You can follow him on Twitter @dpare71 or on Facebook.
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