Anthony Swarzak: Fort Lauderdale Native & Former Mets Pitcher (2018)
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He was 11-1 with 120 strike outs in his sophomore year, getting him signed by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the 2004 draft. He was named All County & All State at the highest levels. He followed that year up winning14 games in both his Junior & Senior years, while losing just three games in both years combined. He also struck out 142 & 145 batters respectively.
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He made his MLB debut on May 23rd getting a start against the Milwaukee Brewers where he pitched five scoreless innings earning a win. That year as a starter he went 3-7 posting a 6.25 ERA.
He broke his foot after being struck by a line drive & spent the rest of 2010 at AAA. He returned to the big leagues again during the 2011 season. That year he began pitching in relief & would maintain that position for the rest of his career, except for four starts in 2014.
As for 2013 he posted a 2.91 ERA with a 3-2 record in 48 games. That year he had another dumb incident where he got injured while in his words "he was wrestling around a little bit". The next year his ERA jumped almost two runs & he was granted free agency at the end of the year.
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In 2016 he signed with the AL New York club, pitching 26 games going 1-2 with a 5.52 ERA finishing up six games. Rather than accept a minor league demotion he chose free agency & signed with the Chicago White Sox.
With the slider now perfected he went 4-3 posting a 2.23 ERA striking out 52 batters in 48 innings in 41 games for the Sox.
He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for a minor leaguer at the end of July. He pitched well again, in 29 games with the Brew Crew he was 2-1 with a 2.48 ERA, 39 strike outs in 29 innings. On the season he was 6-4 with two saves posting a 2.33 ERA, striking out 91 batters in 77 innings of work.
Mets Career: The Mets were impressed & gave him a two year deal in December 2017.
Swarzak made his Mets debut in the second Spring training game of 2018. He would make 29 appearances for the 2018 Mets, going 0-2 with a 6.15 ERA. He struck out 31 & walked 14 in 26 innings of work.
He was granted free agency & spent 2019 with Seattle & the Atlanta Braves going an overall 3-4 with a four saves.
In his ten year career he has pitched in 375 games going 26-36 with 485 strike outs, 201& walks in 641 innings of work, finishing up 65 games with ten career saves.
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"I had two cousins that graduated from that school. My heart, it aches for those families, for all of Broward County, for the United States. This is a sad time we are living in. We all have to find a way to rise above it. Love conquers all. It really does. It’s a really sad thing.”
Family: He & his wife Elizabeth donated food to the South Florida school days after the horrible incident occurred.
He claims in an interview his wife is his rock & credits her with straightening out his life. Together they have a daughter, who loves to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" & "God Bless America" at the ballpark.
Trivia: Swarzak's hobbies include fishing & golf. He is also a big foodie & loves Italian Food as well as a good steak. One of his favorite movies is "A Bronx Tale".
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