Canadian baseball player (born 1983)
Baseball player
Robert Joseph "R. J." Swindle
(born July 7, 1983) is a Canadian former
Major League Baseball
(MLB)
pitcher
who played for the
Philadelphia Phillies
and
Milwaukee Brewers
in 2008 and 2009.
Amateur career
[
edit
]
A native of
Vancouver, British Columbia
, Swindle graduated from
University High School
in
Orlando, Florida
. He played travel ball for the Central Florida Renegades ? leading them to the Connie Mack SE Regional Championship game before falling to East Cobb.
Swindle attended
Charleston Southern University
, where he was 21–13 over his three seasons playing for the Buccaneers. His strongest season was
2003
, when he posted a 10–4 record as a
starter
with an
ERA
of 1.96. After the 2003 season, he played
collegiate summer baseball
with the
Harwich Mariners
of the
Cape Cod Baseball League
.
[1]
[2]
Overall in his college career, he
struck out
330 batters over three years, with a career ERA of 3.13.
[3]
Professional career
[
edit
]
2004
[
edit
]
Swindle was selected by the
Boston Red Sox
in the 14th round (425th overall) of the
2004 MLB draft
. He began his professional career as a reliever for the
Lowell Spinners
of the
New York?Penn League
. In 12 games, Swindle posted a 5–1 record with a 1.94 ERA, leading the Spinners in
wins
in
2004
. He pitched 51 innings, allowing 11
earned runs
and striking out 56, also leading the team in
WHIP
.
[4]
Despite his statistics, he was released by the Red Sox at the end of the year.
[5]
2005
[
edit
]
In
2005
, Swindle played for the
Schaumburg Flyers
of the
independent
Northern League
. Posting a 6–4 record in 18 games (16 starts), he was second on his team in innings pitched, with
118
+
1
⁄
3
, and in strikeouts, with 102. Swindle also tossed two
complete games
for Schaumburg at the age of 21.
[6]
2006–07
[
edit
]
Swindle started his
2006
season with the Flyers as a member of their starting rotation. After being signed by the
New York Yankees
organization in June, he posted an ERA of 0.61 in 21 appearances for Single-A
Charleston
, earning him a late-season promotion to
Columbus
. After beginning
2007
with the
Newark Bears
in the
Atlantic League
,
[7]
he split the remainder of the year between
Lakewood
and
Clearwater
in the Phillies' farm system, compiling a 2–2 record with a 2.25 ERA in 44 innings pitched, including 57 strikeouts and only 8
walks
.
[8]
2008
[
edit
]
Swindle was first called up to the majors on July 2,
2008
, to replace
Clay Condrey
in the Phillies'
bullpen
;
[9]
he took the roster spot vacated by
Brett Myers
.
[10]
As a
reliever
, he had a 1–1 record and a 2.19 ERA for
Lehigh Valley
, after posting a 1–0 record with an 0.54 ERA at
Reading
.
[11]
Swindle was sent back down on July 4 to open a roster spot for
J. A. Happ
without playing in a major league game, but returned to the majors on July 7 when
Tom Gordon
went on the
disabled list
.
[12]
He made his major league debut the same day, also his 25th birthday, against the
New York Mets
. He pitched three innings, allowing two
runs
, walking one and striking out three.
[13]
Batting for himself against
Arizona
on July 12, Swindle drove in
Eric Bruntlett
on a fielders' choice for his first major league
RBI
in his second career
at-bat
.
[14]
However, the Phillies optioned him back to Lehigh Valley the next day, July 13, in favor of
Joe Bisenius
.
[15]
He was recalled to the majors when the Phillies made the postseason and got his first career championship ring when the Phillies prevailed in the 2008 World Series.
2009
[
edit
]
Swindle signed with the
Milwaukee Brewers
on November 25, 2008, for the
2009
season.
[16]
On August 7, Swindle was designated for assignment by the Brewers, and was claimed by the
Tampa Bay Rays
. However, the Rays designated him for assignment the following day.
On August 12, 2009, Swindle was claimed off waivers by the
Cleveland Indians
.
2011
[
edit
]
He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2011 season, before opting out of his contract on July 20.
[17]
2012
[
edit
]
On December 21, 2011, he signed a minor league contract with the
St. Louis Cardinals
. He also received an invitation to spring training.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Major League Baseball Players From the Cape Cod League"
(PDF)
. capecodbaseball.org
. Retrieved
September 25,
2019
.
- ^
"2003 Harwich Mariners"
. thebaseballcube.com
. Retrieved
September 23,
2021
.
- ^
"R. J. Swindle Statistics"
. Baseball Cube
. Retrieved
July 12,
2008
.
- ^
"2004 Lowell Spinners Statistics"
. Baseball Reference
. Retrieved
July 12,
2008
.
- ^
Schneider, Max (July 10, 2006).
"Swindle Proves Himself Through Numbers"
. Scout.com
. Retrieved
July 12,
2008
.
- ^
"2005 Schaumburg Flyers"
. Baseball Cube
. Retrieved
July 12,
2008
.
- ^
"Press Releases"
. Newark Bears. July 2, 2008. Archived from
the original
on March 31, 2022
. Retrieved
July 12,
2008
.
- ^
"Minor League Baseball: Stats"
. Minor League Baseball
. Retrieved
July 10,
2008
.
- ^
"Phils recall pitcher Swindle from minors"
. Philadelphia Phillies
. Retrieved
July 2,
2008
.
- ^
"Swindle happy to be in majors"
. Philadelphia Phillies
. Retrieved
July 3,
2008
.
- ^
"Robert Swindle Statistics"
. Baseball Reference
. Retrieved
July 12,
2008
.
- ^
"Gordon of DL with elbow inflammation"
. Philadelphia Phillies
. Retrieved
July 7,
2008
.
- ^
"Boxscore"
. Major League Baseball. July 7, 2008
. Retrieved
July 11,
2008
.
- ^
"Gameday"
. Major League Baseball. July 12, 2008
. Retrieved
July 12,
2008
.
- ^
Mandel, Ken (July 13, 2008).
"Phillies recall Bisenius, option Swindle"
. Philadelphia Phillies
. Retrieved
July 13,
2008
.
- ^
McCalvy, Adam (November 25, 2008).
"Crew adds lefty Swindle to fold in 'pen"
. Milwaukee Brewers
. Retrieved
November 26,
2008
.
- ^
Topkin, Marc.
"Tampa Bay Rays catcher Jose Lobaton lands on disabled list with left knee sprain"
.
Tampabay.com
. Retrieved
20 July
2011
.
External links
[
edit
]