Swisher Selected in First Round of Baseball’s Amateur Draft – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 4, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher (Jr., Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) was the 16th overall selection by the Oakland Athletics in the Baseball First-Year Player Draft, while outfielder Doug Deeds (So., Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) was picked in the ninth round by the Minnesota Twins.
Swisher is the highest pick under OSU head coach Bob Todd in his 15 seasons as the Buckeye mentor. Mike Durant was selected 32nd overall in 1991.
“Nick is an extremely talented player and I look forward to follow his progress,” Todd said. “I hope he reaches his goal to play in the big leagues. We wish him the best. Doug is an extremely talented player and showed the potential that the scouts like. I will have to sit down and talk with he and his parents about his future.”
Swisher, son of former major leaguer Steve Swisher, batted.323 in his three years with the Buckeyes, batting in 156 runs with 35 home runs. He had a .613 slugging percentage and a .452 on-base percentage while at Ohio State and was a starter in 166 of the 169 games in which he played. This season, Swisher batted .348, third best on the team, with a team-best 52 RBI and 10 home runs.
The junior switch hitter reached base safely in all but one of his 54 games this season and at one point rode a 19-game hit streak, which was within four games of the school’s all-time record. Swisher, a first-team All-Big Ten selection both as a sophomore and junior, had 64 hits, including 14 doubles and three triples to go with his 10 homers in 2002. He was a freshman All-American and the Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2000.
In the field, Swisher had a .983 fielding percentage for his career. He played 39 games in centerfield and played the other 15 games his junior season at first base, where he had played all but three games his sophomore year. “It is a phenomenal feeling,” Swisher said. “It is something I have worked for all of my life and now that I have the opportunity, I have to take full advantage of it.”
Deeds led the Buckeyes at the plate in 2002 with a .386 batting average and also topped the squad with 81 hits and 12 home runs. He had 11 doubles and a triple, while knocking in 45 runs. In his two-year career, the red-shirt sophomore, started in 111 of his 114 games, while batting .365 with 150 hits, including 26 doubles, two triples and 26 home runs. He had a .628 slugging percentage and a .447 on-base percentage in his two seasons in Columbus. Deeds was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American after being named the 2001 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. A first-team selection as a designated hitter last year, he was a second-team All-Big Ten selection in the outfield in 2002.
“It is a great feeling to know I get a chance to follow my dream of playing professional baseball,” Deeds said. “I’m excited to have this opportunity.”
The First-Year Player Draft concludes Wednesday in New York, N.Y. For complete coverage, visit: http://www.majorleaguebaseball.com.
