Nick Swisher has friendly conversation with Tsuyoshi Nishioka after double play collision
Things got weird for new Minnesota Twins player, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. The fabled second baseman was at the Yankee Stadium when he suffered a serious injury.
The club was playing against the New York Yankees and during an innings when Mark Teixeira smashed a hard grounder. Nick Swished, who was pulling up at second base, slid right into the Japanese star’s legs to enforce a double play.
The collision left Nishioka with a broken left fibula. Swisher, who was the perpetrator at the scene, was also devastated. He expected the Twins’ infielder to jump out of the way but that never happened. While the Yankees won the contest, 4-3, Nishioka left
the field immediately.
Swisher, who was grieved about the incident, visited the former Chiba Lotte Marine shortstop after the game to speak to him.
"I just talked to him a little bit ago in the X-ray room. I told him, 'Hey man, I thought you were going to jump.' He just said, 'It's my fault, I didn't get out of the way".
Swisher explained that he was just trying to advance the Yankees one-run lead.
"I was just trying to break up the double play. I wasn't trying to do anything more than that".
The outfielder pleaded not guilty as his slide went clean over the base.
"Literally, I was right on top of the bag", Swisher said. "Either way, I was glad I got a chance to talk to him -- definitely eased my mind. He told me, 'Hey, it's not your fault, don't feel bad.' I know I play hard, but you don't ever want to try to hurt
anybody".
The outfielder told the press that talking to Nishioka made him feel a lot better, given the situation.
Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, also saw no problems with the slide as he backed his player up by saying that Swisher was trying to break a double play. He emphasized that this practice has been taught in schools and the outfielder had no malicious intent,
leading into the game.
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