Robert Joseph "R. J." Swindle (born July 7, 1983) is a Canadian former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB)

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who played for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

in 2008 and 2009.

Amateur career

A native of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, Swindle graduated from University High School in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. 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 Charleston Southern University (CSU) is a private Baptist university in North Charleston, South Carolina. It is affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention ( Southern Baptist Convention). History Charleston Southern University was ch ...

, where he was 21–13 over his three seasons playing for the Buccaneers. His strongest season was , when he posted a 10–4 record as a starter with an

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

of 1.96. After the 2003 season, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. Overall in his college career, he

struck out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denot ...

330 batters over three years, with a career ERA of 3.13.

Professional career

2004

Swindle was selected by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in the 14th round (425th overall) of the 2004 MLB draft. He began his professional career as a reliever for the

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major League ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. In 12 games, Swindle posted a 5–1 record with a 1.94 ERA, leading the Spinners in

wins WINS may refer to: *WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City *WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City *World Institute for Nuclear Security *Windows Internet Name Service *WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems *Wireles ...

in . He pitched 51 innings, allowing 11

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

s and striking out 56, also leading the team in

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. Despite his statistics, he was released by the Red Sox at the end of the year.

2005

In , Swindle played for the

Schaumburg Flyers The Schaumburg Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Schaumburg, Illinois, in the United States. The Flyers were to be charter members of the North American League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, but the team fol ...

of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Northern League. Posting a 6–4 record in 18 games (16 starts), he was second on his team in innings pitched, with , and in strikeouts, with 102. Swindle also tossed two

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s for Schaumburg at the age of 21.

2006–07

Swindle started his season with the Flyers as a member of their starting rotation. After being signed by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

organization in June, he posted an ERA of 0.61 in 21 appearances for Single-A

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, earning him a late-season promotion to

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. After beginning with the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

in the Atlantic League, he split the remainder of the year between

Lakewood Lakewood may refer to: Places Australia * Lakewood, Western Australia, an abandoned town in Western Australia Canada * Lakewood, Edmonton, Alberta * Lakewood Suburban Centre, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Philippines * Lakewood, Zamboanga del S ...

and

Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...

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.

2008

Swindle was first called up to the majors on July 2, , to replace

Clay Condrey Clayton Lee Condrey (born November 19, 1975) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies. Condrey featured five pitches: a Sinker (baseba ...

in the Phillies'

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

; he took the roster spot vacated by

Brett Myers Brett Allen Myers (born August 17, 1980) is an American singer and former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Chicago White Sox, and Cleveland Indians. Born and rai ...

. As a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

, he had a 1–1 record and a 2.19 ERA for

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

, after posting a 1–0 record with an 0.54 ERA at

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

. Swindle was sent back down on July 4 to open a roster spot for

J. A. Happ James Anthony Happ (born October 19, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New Y ...

without playing in a major league game, but returned to the majors on July 7 when

Tom Gordon Thomas Flynn Gordon (born November 18, 1967), nicknamed "Flash," is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher and current radio color commentator for the Boston Red Sox. Gordon played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Ka ...

went on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. He made his major league debut the same day, also his 25th birthday, against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. He pitched three innings, allowing two runs, walking one and striking out three. Batting for himself against

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

on July 12, Swindle drove in

Eric Bruntlett Eric Kevin Bruntlett (born March 29, 1978), was an American former professional baseball utility player, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies. Bruntlett is perhaps best remembered for executing ...

on a fielders' choice for his first major league RBI in his second career

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

. However, the Phillies optioned him back to Lehigh Valley the next day, July 13, in favor of

Joe Bisenius Joseph Richard Bisenius (born September 18, 1982) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current area scout for the Minnesota Twins. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals. College and draft Bisenius ...

. 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

Swindle signed with the

on November 25, 2008, for the season. On August 7, Swindle was designated for assignment by the Brewers, and was claimed by the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

. However, the Rays designated him for assignment the following day. On August 12, 2009, Swindle was claimed off waivers by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

2011

He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for the 2011 season, before opting out of his contract on July 20.

2012

On December 21, 2011, he signed a minor league contract with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. He also received an invitation to spring training.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swindle, R. J. 1983 births Living people Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball people from Vancouver Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Charleston Southern Buccaneers baseball players Charleston RiverDogs players Clearwater Threshers players Columbus Clippers players Durham Bulls players Harwich Mariners players Lakewood BlueClaws players Reading Phillies players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Lowell Spinners players Major League Baseball players from Canada Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players Navegantes del Magallanes players Canadian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Newark Bears players Olympic baseball players for Canada Philadelphia Phillies players Milwaukee Brewers players Memphis Redbirds players Schaumburg Flyers players World Baseball Classic players of Canada 2013 World Baseball Classic players University High School (Orlando, Florida) alumni