He was a switch hitter who threw left-handed, and played for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves.

A power hitter with excellent plate discipline, Swisher hit at least 20 home runs in each of nine consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2013, and reached 75 bases on balls on seven occasions in that span.

[2] His mother was of part Italian descent; her grandfather immigrated to the Buffalo, New York area from the town of Oliveri, in Sicily.

[5] Swisher attended Parkersburg High School[6] where he was a three-sport star, playing football and baseball, while lettering in basketball.

[12] Swisher made his professional debut with the Vancouver Canadians of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League in 2002, batting .250 with two home runs and 12 RBI in 13 games.

[13][14] He was later promoted to the Visalia Oaks of the Class A-Advanced California League, where he batted .240 with four home runs and 23 RBI in 49 games.

[13] He batted .230 with five home runs and 43 RBI in 76 games for Midland to finish the season, and then played in the Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Desert Dogs.

[13][16] Swisher played for the Sacramento River Cats of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League for the 2004 season, batting .269 with 29 home runs and 92 RBI in 125 games.

Teammate Huston Street won the award, while fellow 2002 Oakland draftee Joe Blanton finished seventh.

During the 2006 regular season, Swisher compiled a .254 batting average with 35 home runs and 95 RBI (both career-highs) in 157 games.

The A's lacked both Dan Johnson and Erubiel Durazo for a large portion of the 2006 season, leaving room for Swisher to move back into his preferred position on a temporary basis.

[24] On September 16, 2007, Swisher initiated a brawl when he charged the mound after getting hit by a pitch from Texas Rangers pitcher Vicente Padilla.

[25]Swisher was traded on January 3, 2008 to the Chicago White Sox for minor leaguers Ryan Sweeney, Gio González, and Fautino de los Santos as part of what Athletics general manager Billy Beane termed a "rebuilding effort".

[32] At the end of spring training, manager Joe Girardi announced that Xavier Nady would be starting in right field while Swisher would be a bench player.

[33][34] Due to the perceived logjam, many teams reportedly pursued Swisher,[35][36] but the Yankees opted to keep him as a reserve outfielder and first baseman.

On April 9, 2009, in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Swisher started for the first time as a Yankee in right field, replacing Xavier Nady, who was playing DH to give Hideki Matsui a rest.

[41] Due to a .128 batting average in the 2009 postseason, Swisher worked with hitting coach Kevin Long to reinvent his swing for the 2010 season.

Although Swisher's offensive totals dipped slightly from his 2010 career year, he still managed to hit .260, and was one of four Yankees with at least 20 home runs (together with Granderson, Teixeira, and Canó), and finished fourth on the team with 85 RBI.

[6][45] On November 9, 2012, Swisher declined a $13.3 million one-year qualifying offer from the Yankees, making him a free agent.

[50] The 2014 season marked a difficult one for Swisher, as injuries had caused him to post career lows in batting average (.208), games played (97) and home runs (8).

[55] On August 7, 2015, the Indians traded Swisher and Michael Bourn with cash considerations to the Atlanta Braves for Chris Johnson.

[13] The Yankees opted not to promote Swisher to the major leagues, in spite of injuries suffered by Mark Teixeira, Dustin Ackley, and Chris Parmelee.

She died from brain cancer in 2005; he has a memorial tattoo in her honor on his chest (her initials, surrounded by angel's wings and a halo.

[5] To honor her further, he let his hair grow for eleven months and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a program that creates free wigs for cancer patients.

A percentage of the proceeds was to be donated to "Swish's Wishes", a charity started by Swisher for children who are facing health crises.