SWAGS’ HOTSPOT

Welcome to Swags’ Hotspot:  After several features on our site, Chris Swauger (AKA Swags) has found a home on MLB reports! The St. Louis Cardinals Prospect and future stand-up comedian has his own dedicated Page on the Reports.  Check back often for our exclusive Swags MLB Blog entries.  Swags played for the Springfield Cardinals (AA) in 2011 and recently returned from Panama and his Winter Ball experience.  In Swags’ Hotspot, Chris Swauger will be sharing his insights as a professional baseball player.  Get an inside look at what makes a ballplayer tick.  We will be featuring regular MLB Blog entries by Swags, as he chronicles his climb up the St. Louis Cardinals organizational ladder.  One of the funniest guys we know, Swags never stops making us laugh.  Think of Swags’ Hotspot as the perfect marriage of baseball and comedy.

Swags loves fan interaction and encourages your comments and feedback. Actually, he demands it!  You can leave your comments at the bottom of this page and each blog post.  We love to see great baseball discussions going!  You can also reach Swags anytime on Twitter (@CSwag8).

Fasten your seatbelts.  You are about to enter the mind of Swags.  Enjoy the ride!

Swags’ Baseball Equipment:    January 17, 2012

Chris Swauger-  MLB reports Blog (Swags’ Hotspot):  I was given an idea for this blog and I tried to run with it.  I ended up plowing headfirst into a brick wall.  The idea was to write about how I choose my equipment.  How do I decide on what gear to arm myself with to go into baseball battle?  I started thinking about it and writing about it… when I realized something: it doesn’t matter.  As a minor leaguer grinding and struggling my way up the food chain, I will take anything I can get.  I don’t care if I have the latest batting gloves or the newest cleats.  There are no style points awarded in this game.  Any and all equipment provided for me is acceptable.  If I don’t have to pay for it, that’s a huge plus.  One of my teammates and I came up with a saying, “FREE is in the budget.”  Truer words have never been spoken……..

To read the full blog entry, please click on the link:  http://mlbreports.com/2012/01/17/swauger-blog-equipment/ 

Chris Swauger MLB Blog:  My Offseason (Part 2)    January 10, 2012

Chris Swauger-  MLB reports Blog (Swags’ Hotspot):  A minor league baseball season lasts about five and a half months from start to finish.  Add in anywhere from a month to six weeks for Spring training and playoffs and the total time playing adds up to about seven months.  Seven months of grinding out games, bus rides, and late-night meals.  Days are filled with early work, extra work, batting practice, bullpens, conditioning lifts, rehab, pre-hab, post-hab, and so on.  Free time is a precious commodity and soreness is an epidemic.  However, when September rolls around, all of us are left with five months to do…absolutely nothing.  After days upon days planned to the minute, what am I supposed to do when I don’t have anything planned for months?………..

To read the full blog entry, please click on the link:  http://mlbreports.com/2012/01/10/swags-offseason-2/

Chris Swauger Guest MLB Blog:  My Offseason, Part 1   December 28, 2011

Chris Swauger-  Guest MLB Blog:  The winter months are an interesting time for a minor league baseball player.  When the season ends in September, we all exchange hugs, handshakes and well-wishes, knowing full well some of us will never see each other again.  It is a very strange feeling and it carries over into the off-season.  Some of us head home to relax and recover from 140 games or more.  Some get ready to showcase their skills in the Arizona Fall League.  Others, like me, sign up to keep playing in foreign countries.  Those of you who have read my previous blogs know about my experiences playing in Panama this fall.  It was a great experience and now I am back home, enjoying family, friends, and the holiday season…………….

To read the full blog entry, please click on the link:      http://mlbreports.com/2011/12/28/swags-offseason-blog/

The End of the Winter Ball Season in Panama:  The Chris Swauger Guest MLB Blog   December 9, 2011

MLB reports:   Chris Swauger (aka Swags) is back in North America and returns to the Reports!  Swags has wrapped up his Winter Ball season in Panama and shares his experiences with us.  We even get an inside look at a Winter Ball All-Star Game!  A big thank you to Swags for his time in preparing his second blog feature on MLB reports, as well as the photographs used which were supplied for from his personal collection………….  

To read the full blog entry, please click on the link:    http://mlbreports.com/2011/12/09/swauger-blog-panama-2/

Playing Winter Ball in Panama:  The Chris Swauger MLB Guest Blog    December 2, 2011

MLB reports:   We are proud to welcome Chris Swauger (aka Swags) back to the Reports!  After our interview with the St. Louis Cardinals prospect, we are fortunate to have Swags return as a Guest MLB Blogger.  Have you ever wondered what goes through a player’s mind playing winter ball in a foreign country?  Swags is here to give you the scoop on the experience of playing ball in the offseason.  A big thank you to Swags for his time in preparing this feature, as well as the photographs used which were supplied for from his personal collection…………  

To read the full blog entry, please click on the link:    http://mlbreports.com/2011/12/02/blog-swags/

Interview with the King of Swag:  Cardinals Prospect Chris Swauger   November 27, 2011