Sidelined Swanson still contributes

Barry Faulkner

Nagging elbow pain has relegated what would have been UC Irvine

baseball pitcher Glenn Swanson’s senior season to a virtual video

game.

But, as with about every other aspect of his life, he competes

well in those, too.

So, though the Anteaters have been and may continue to be deprived

of Swanson’s ample pitching talent -- a recent MRI showed no

structural damage to his elbow, but there is no timetable in place

for him to resume throwing -- they should continue to benefit from

the perpetually positive vibrations that emanate from the squad’s

most popular player.

“I wouldn’t say he’s a cheerleader, but he’s definitely the heart

and soul of this team in terms of dugout atmosphere,” said UCI

pitcher Michael Koehler, one of many Anteaters who rave about

Swanson’s consistent ability to be the consummate teammate.

“I’d say he’s the perfect definition of a teammate,” senior second

baseman Brett Dalton said. “He’s always there for his teammates, no

matter if they’re hitting .500 or .100. He’s always there to pick you

up.”

It wasn’t long before first-year coach Dave Serrano noticed

Swanson’s impact on the program.

“Glenn has a tremendous personality,” Serrano said. “He always has

a smile and a little giggle out on the field. He’s well-respected and

well-liked by his teammates.”

Swanson’s electric smile is but one way he lifts the Anteaters.

His animation on the field and in the dugout also manifests itself in

a series of separate and specific handshakes he carries out with just

about everyone in uniform.

“They’re like homework,” junior outfielder Erik Johnson joked

about Swanson’s handshake routines. “We all have to watch film and

study to make sure we have them down. We get scouting reports from

other teams to make sure we’re not copying any of theirs. And they

can change from week to week, even day to day.”

Swanson, 21, said each handshake routine, some involving a series

of gestures that can take several seconds, has its own inspiration.

“It’s just a spontaneous thing,” said Swanson, who works with new

teammates to develop their own specific greeting/celebration.

“You’ve got to find a way to keep stuff interesting and shake

things up out there,” Swanson continued. “I think handshakes are a

great way to connect with your teammates, both on the field and off.”

Swanson said the intricate handshake routine he has developed with

Dalton is the one he looks forward to most.

“That’s my favorite, by far,” Swanson said. “It’s just our thing

that we do. If, for some reason, we miss doing it after

outfield-infield (the familiar pregame warmup routine), we catch up

to each other in the dugout. It’s more of a routine than a

superstition but, eventually, we have to get it done. It’s just

something we do to loosen each other up and loosen the team up and

show them that we’re having fun out there.”

Swanson would prefer to be having fun inside the foul lines, but

Serrano said recently that if Swanson is not able to return this

season, he might petition for a medical redshirt. If granted, that

would enable Swanson to play next season.

Swanson, who believes his elbow pain is a product of years of wear

and tear without much extended rest (he pitched the last two summers

in the Cape Cod League), last pitched Feb. 12. He threw five innings

and allowed three earned runs to get the victory against Washington.

It was his only start this season.

He is 1-0 this spring with a 3.00 ERA over three appearances

spanning nine innings. He has surrendered 10 hits, walked two and

struck out 11.

For his career, the graduate of Morse High in San Diego is 17-18

with a 4.46 ERA. Relying on extreme competitiveness and an assortment

of fastballs, curveballs and changeups, often from multiple arm

angles, he has struck out 240 in 280 1/3 innings, yielding 289 hits

and walking 100.

Lacking the kind of velocity and stature most scouts covet, the

6-foot-1, 183-pound Swanson said UCI and then-coach John Savage (now

at UCLA) was the only Division I program to show any interest in him

out of high school.

What Savage, as well as the handful of this year’s seniors who

were brought in to resurrect the program after a nine-season hiatus

quickly learned, was that the supremely competitive southpaw was bent

on disproving the doubters.

“I thought people missed the boat on me,” said Swanson, who made

one freshman All-American team after going 8-5 with a 4.44 ERA in

2002. “I wanted to go and prove to everybody who looked right past me

that I deserved a shot and I belonged.”

Swanson was just 2-9 as a sophomore, but lowered his ERA to 3.67.

After going 5-1 with a 2.14 ERA and starting the Cape Cod League

All-Star game, he began his junior season on a roll. He won six of

his first seven decisions and the Anteaters won seven of his first

eight starts, helping catapult the program into the national rankings

in the process.

But he struggled in three successive starts, temporarily lost,

then regained his spot in the rotation, and finished 6-4 with a 5.51

ERA.

After being drafted in the 37th round by the Boston Red Sox in

June, Swanson returned to the Cape and went 4-3 with a 2.81 ERA. But

his status for Serrano, who was the pitching coach for 2004 national

champion Cal State Fullerton, became tenuous just before this season

began, due to pain in his pitching elbow.

Swanson said he has had episodes with his elbow before.

Serrano said last week that the MRI “came back clean,” but that

Swanson continues to experience discomfort, even when doing arm

exercises.

As the days roll on, it appears more and more likely that Swanson

won’t return to the mound this spring. But he will not abandon his

teammates, on or off the field.

“Glenn is one of those guys who pays attention to details and he

cares,” said Johnson, one of a handful of Swanson’s roommates the

last few years. “If there’s something wrong in one of our lives,

whether it’s personal, or with our family, he’s the first person in

the house to ask about you and check in on you. He’ll do anything to

help you out.”

Swanson said compassion is something he picked up from his family.

“We’re a very tight-knit group,” he said of mother Sharon, father

Glenn and older brother Jeremiah, 24. “We have a very good

understanding about one another and we really care about one another.

That’s why we get along so well. I use that as an example of what I

try to bring out here to the field.”

Swanson also brings a passion for competition, which is readily

apparent to all who know him.

“If you asked me who the most competitive guy on the team is,”

Dalton said, “I’d say it would be [Swanson].”

Johnson echoed that sentiment.

“Glenn is one of the most competitive people I’ve ever been

around. He’s generally very laid back and will take things as they

come. But when you start throwing things or getting competitive with

anything, he’s a competitive guy. Whether it’s an argument over the

Top 10 on SportsCenter or playing Xbox or anything with life, he’ll

get fired up about it.”