Swinton Hoping for More Than Just a Whiff of a Career

Most former second-round picks probably wouldn’t be too happy with their baseball careers if they were playing in Class A seven years after they signed.

But for Jermaine Swinton, who has spent parts of those seven years working for United Parcel Service or playing in a league that folded after 10 games, the California League doesn’t seem like such a bad place after all.

Particularly because Swinton, the Stockton Ports’ 23-year-old designated hitter, is among the league leaders in home runs and runs batted in. He was the league leader until a couple of weeks ago, when he was sidelined because of a sore right wrist.

For Swinton, who was placed on the disabled list Monday, it’s just another bump in a career that’s gone about as smoothly as a sailboat in a hurricane.

Swinton, who went to high school in Brooklyn, signed with the Houston Astros for $100,000 late in the 1989 season, when he was only 16. He had skipped a year in grade school.

In his first four seasons in the Houston system, he showed some promise with the power naturally generated by a player his size (6 feet 3, 265 pounds), but he made more of an impression when he didn’t hit the ball, which was quite often.

Swinton struck out 502 times in 1,070 at-bats. He was released in 1993.

Swinton tried to hook on with another team for the 1994 season, sitting at home in Brooklyn and phoning any and all scouts.

“It was tough,” he said. “I was kind of reaching. Nothing was happening. By June, I was trying to stay confident, optimistic, but in reality it was too late to hook on with anyone.”

Swinton worked for UPS, taking batting practice whenever he could find free time, and watched many of his baseball friends move toward the major leagues.

“That kind of motivated me to get back on track,” he said. “I realized I wasn’t ready for 9-to-5. I still had some baseball left in me. I probably couldn’t have lived with myself if I hadn’t taken an opportunity to get back at it.”

Swinton was invited to camp with the Seattle Mariners in 1995--he worked out with the Riverside team that has since become the JetHawks--but he was waived near the end of spring training. The Angels picked him up, but they released him a few days later.

He tried out for a team in the Texas-Louisiana League, one of the most-established independent minor leagues, but didn’t make it. He finally was signed by the Yuma franchise in the Golden State League--yes, the ill-fated league conceived by Chatsworth businessman Bob Weinstein.

This spring, Swinton paid his own way to Arizona during spring training in hopes of getting back into a major league organization. The Milwaukee Brewers, impressed by his power and figuring he could work through his strikeout problem, signed him and shipped him to Stockton.

Before he was hurt, Swinton was providing exactly what you’d expect: 164 at-bats, 10 home runs, 72 strikeouts. He’s hitting .280, exactly .500 the times he actually puts the ball in play.

What’s remarkable about Swinton is he doesn’t seem to be bothered by the strikeouts. Against the JetHawks earlier this month, he had struck out his first four trips to the plate, then calmly swatted a game-winning home run.

“I’m having a decent year now,” Swinton said. “Not what I’d like, but I have a positive outlook.”

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San Jose closer Russ Ortiz has done just about all he can in the Cal League.

Ortiz, a Montclair Prep graduate, is leading the league with 16 saves in 17 opportunities. Through Friday he had an 0.38 earned-run average. In 24 innings, he has 38 strikeouts and has allowed nine hits.

“He’s been ready to go to the next level,” Giants’ Manager Carlos Lezcano said. “But he just needs work to be ready for the big leagues and he can work just as good here as in double A.”

Ortiz, a fourth-round pick out of Oklahoma last summer, said he tries not to worry about it.

“I think [I’m ready for double A], but it’s something for the organization and not for me to worry about,” he said. “I’m just trying to do the best I can. I can’t let it distract me.”

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It’s September in the Cal League. Sort of. Each team has about 20 games remaining in the 70-game first half, which ends June 16. The Northern Division and Southern Division winners qualify for the playoffs.

The race is particularly interesting in the south, where only 2 1/2 games separate first from last. Starting Friday, the last-place JetHawks will play only Southern Division teams for the rest of the half.