By Jake MintzFOX Sports MLB Writer
There’s something different about Dansby Swanson.
This season, former No. 1 overall, the golden shortstop that helped guide his boyhood club to October glory and the longest-serving Atlanta Brave, for the first time in his MLB career, being the best player on his team. With half the season gone, Swanson has smashed 14 homers and slugging nearly .500 while providing a superb defense in one of the game’s most demanding positions.
FanGraphs has Swanson as the fifth most valuable player in baseball, behind only Manny Machado, Paul Goldschmidt, Rafael Devers and Nolan Arenado. At the current 3.4 WAR, Swanson has a chance to be the first shortstop since A-Rod jumped on board to post an 8.0-WAR season.
It’s a huge leap forward for a player who’s always been better than elite, more a cornerstone of a reliable franchise than an All-Star tier contributor. And for Swanson, the jump could not have come at a more opportune time, as the 28-year-old is set to enter the free agent market this winter.
Ask Swanson about his breakout season, and he’ll tell you it’s part mental, part physical. He says he feels calmer, calmer, clearer about who he is as a person and as a footballer, but he has also made some important changes to his training regimen in the off-season.
“I feel like over the last few years, I’ve really grown and gotten a feeling of true serenity and peace,” Swanson shared with FOX Sports before the recent Braves game in Philadelphia. “I understand what’s really important and what’s not right now.”
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First drafted in its entirety by Arizona in 2015, the Swanson was shared with the Braves months later in what is now considered one of the most skewed trades of the 21st century. Born and raised outside Atlanta, Swanson and his family are allegedly overjoyed that he was sent to his favorite childhood club.
But with that joy comes hope; the expectations Swanson now recognized weighed on him.
After its arrival in 2016, Atlanta is still emerging from a poor rebuild. The Braves haven’t reached the playoffs since 2013 and haven’t won a playoff series since 2001. Freddie Freeman survived the demolition and remains the face of the franchise, but Swanson, who is only 23 years old and two years off the college ball, is expected to quickly contribute to helping restore team to the fight.
“The hardest part was when I first arrived in Atlanta,” admits Swanson. “Because I think there are some unfair expectations, and I have very high expectations for myself. The combination was tough. It took me a while to really understand how to handle it.”
In his first full season with the Braves in 2017, Swanson fell to his knees, hitting .232 with just six home runs and an incredible 68 OPS+. The team went 72-90, finishing 25 games behind the division champion Nationals.
“You know when you go to an event, like a gala or something,” says Swanson, “and you feel like you have to be at your game because there are cameras everywhere and a lot of people are watching you? you’re the best it’s tiring isn’t it?
“I basically put that kind of pressure on myself every night.”
Despite the pressure, Swanson completed his role and stepped up his game over the next few seasons, going from an offensively unplayable borderline hitter to a fine-gloved average hitter at shortstop.
More importantly, the Braves started to win. Ronald Acuña Jr. debuted and set the world on fire. Freeman won MVP. The spotlight shifted from Swanson. It’s no longer a burden to carry alone.
Dansby Swanson on winning the World Series as an Atlanta native
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If you look back at footage from the Braves championship parade, you’ll see a lot of Dansby Swanson. Dressed in a custom ATLiens OutKast T-shirt, hair sticking out of the back of a World Series beanie, Swanson front and center. He grabbed a beer with one hand from a moving bus and delivered a rousing speech from a podium in Truist Park, urging management to re-sign Freeman.
But Swanson had little time to appreciate the title. The day after the parade, she flew from Atlanta to Chicago to cheer on her current fiancé, Mallory Pugh, one of the best football players in the world and star striker for the US Women’s National Team and the Chicago NWSL Red Star.
“We went from my playoffs straight to the playoffs,” recalls Swanson. “It went from trying to win the championship to being out of the blue, now I’m in fashion to be a very supportive partner for him during his playoffs.”
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Swanson and Pugh met in 2017 through former Atlanta teammate Jace Peterson, who is married to Mallory’s sister Brianna. Swanson admits that having someone who understands the pressures and lifestyle of an elite athlete is a very unique privilege that most footballers don’t have.
When asked how their relationship impacted him as a footballer, Swanson laughed.
“Are we pushing each other? Yes and no. I think we inspire each other, but people have misconceptions about athletes dating athletes. Like, he didn’t get into my grill or anything, but he kept it very real. every aspect of my life, he is supportive and has the ability to get the best out of me. You know? He can push buttons that no one else can.”
This past offseason, Swanson and Pugh hired Mark Kovacs, a renowned sports scientist and movement expert, to be their full-time personal trainer. Every day, Kovacs would go to Pugh-Swanson’s house, where the two have their own private gym. Kovacs would work out with Pugh, he would do football work, then he would work out with Swanson, and he would do baseball work.
Swanson credits some of his offensive improvements this season for his off-season work with Kovacs. Instead of focusing on weight lifting, Swanson and Kovacs focused on increasing the strength of one leg.
“Smack literally one leg, twice. Each leg works on its own,” says Swanson. “Explosiveness of your back hip is obviously important, but you can only generate as much force as your front leg can physically handle.”
In terms of hitting, Swanson spends a lot of time in the ring with team mate Austin Riley and former Braves batting coordinator Mike Brumley. Swanson made several trips from Atlanta to Dallas to train with Riley and Brumley, with the aim of clearing his bat path to keep his barrel in the zone longer. That has paid huge dividends so far this season, as Swanson’s batting averages of .299 and slugging of .488 will both be career highs.
Over the winter, Swanson also continued to practice a modern form of speech therapy called “brainspotting” which he started after the 2019 season. Brainspotting involves listening to music bilaterally through noise-canceling headphones while the therapist points to different objects in the room. Eventually, as Swanson explains, certain objects trigger old memories or traumatic events and lead to a stream of therapeutic awareness and clearer thoughts. That, along with a renewed commitment to his faith, has contributed to a more grounded version of Swanson.
But much of Swanson’s mental growth can also be attributed to, well, just growing up. Most adults are between the ages of 24 and 28; Swanson just had to do it in front of a crowd. And now, as his tenure as the Atlanta Brave drew to a close, he felt secure within himself.
That security will lead to financial security, as Swanson’s career year is sure to bring him a big paycheck this winter. Whether his sensational first half was the result of a clear mind, stronger bottom, altered swing, renewed belief in higher beings, a combination of all of that or just luck and chance, Swanson ended up being one of the best shortstops. in a big way.
For years, chasing after hope exhausted him. Turns out he ended up giving up what other people wanted so he could make Swanson reach his true potential.
“In 2019, I started to realize that I was trying to be a certain person because I wanted people to see me a certain way,” she said. “But I didn’t fully understand myself. Now I know I don’t have to do everything for those people. I can be myself.
“And that’s what’s happening now.”
Jake Mintz is a tougher part of @CespedesBBQ and a baseball writer for FOX Sports. He is an Orioles fan living in New York City, and as such, he lives a lonely life almost every October. If he doesn’t watch baseball, he almost certainly rides his bike. You can follow him on Twitter @Jake_Mintz.
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Which shortstop has the most errors?
Herman Long is the all-time leader in errors committed as a shortstop with 1,070. Long is the only shortstop to make more than 1,000 career mistakes. Bill Dahlen (975), Germany Smith (973), Tommy Corcoran (961) were the only other shortstops to make more than 900 career mistakes.
Which infielder made the most mistakes? Herman Long is the all-time leader in error, committing 1,096 in his career. Long and Billy Shindle hold the record for the most fielding errors in a season, with Long making 122 mistakes in 1889, and Shindle making 122 mistakes the following year in 1890.
Which shortstop has the most errors in 2021?
| 1 | J. Báez DET | 327 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | L. Urias MIL | 272 |
| 3 | B. Bichette TOR | 364 |
| 4 | J. Chisholm Jr. MIA | 286 |
| 5 | R. Devers BOSS | 270 |
What shortstop has the least errors?
The Fewest Mistakes Cal Ripken, Jr.
Is Dansby Swanson an All Star?
Former baseball shortstop Vanderbilt Dansby Swanson of the Atlanta Braves was named an MLB All-Star. Former Vanderbilt baseball player Dansby Swanson of the Atlanta Braves was named an MLB All-Star, the league announced Sunday. This was Swanson’s first All-Star award in his career.
What is Dansby Swanson’s real name? James Dansby Swanson (born February 11, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Why does Dansby have eyebrow stitches?
Conversation. The stitch you recently saw in Dansby Swanson’s eyes was the product of him being hit with a batting helmet bouncing off the ground as the Braves celebrated Eddie Rosario’s walk-off single in Game 2.
Which Braves made the All-Star team?
d’Arnaud, Contreras, Fried and Swanson join Acuña Jr. The 24-year-old will join Dansby Swanson, William Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud and Max Fried, all of whom will feature as their first All-Stars.
How many errors has Dansby Swanson made?
Swanson has only made two mistakes in 60 games… Since the start of the 2018 season, bWAR defensive 3.8 Swanson is tied for seventh best among all N.L.
Does Dansby Swanson still play for the Braves?
Dansby Swanson of the Braves: Win the arbitration case The 28-year-old is enjoying a strong year on a contract with . 279/. 348/. 428 slashes, six home runs, 26 RBI and nine stolen bases through 56 games.
Where is Dansby Swanson now?
How long is Dansby Swanson contract 2022?
| Contract: | 1 yr / $10,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Free agent: | 2023 / UFA |
Does Dansby Swanson have a contract with the Braves?
Dansby Swanson is a free agent after the 2022 season.
Why does Dansby Swanson have stitches above his left eye?
Here’s an explanation of why Swanson got stitches from Mark Bowman of MLB.com. The stitch you recently saw in Dansby Swanson’s eyes was the product of him being hit with a batting helmet bouncing off the ground as the Braves celebrated Eddie Rosario’s walk-off single in Game 2.
Does Dansby Swanson have stitches? 1 overall pick Dansby Swanson suffers concussion, gets 14 stitches after beaning – MLB | NBC Sports.
What is Dansby Swanson real name?
Marietta, Ga., born James Dansby Swanson (Dansby is his mother’s maiden name). In a clever pun, his Vandy teammates call him “Dans.” Okay, maybe not very smart. By the way, there has never been a major league player with the first, middle, or last name Dansby.
Is Dansby Swanson a good shortstop?
333/. 388 with two home runs and twelve RBI in his first 25 games. Not to mention he’s one of the best defensive shortstops in the game, leading all shortstops with 21 DRS in 2021.
Why did Dansby Swanson burn sage?
In a very recent attempt to break a mini slump, Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson burned sage throughout the team’s ballpark in an attempt to restore some positive mojo.
