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<p>It&#8217;s not as if Nick Swisher had enough.</p><p>But the colorful former New York Yankees outfielder had the opportunity to spend at least part of a summer with his newborn daughter and his family, and took it.</p><p>Swisher asked out of his minor league contract with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders last weekend and was granted his release from the Yankees organization after his wife, JoAnna, delivered their second daughter, Sailor Stevie.</p><p>&#8220;Decided to take a step back and spend the rest of this season with my wife and two daughters,&#8221; the 12-year Major Leaguer said on Twitter.</p><p>Right now, he stepped out of baseball.</p><p>&#8220;Make no mistake, I am not hanging it up,&#8221; the 35-year-old Swisher said on the same Twitter account. &#8220;I love this game with the same amount of passion that I had as a rookie 12 years ago.&#8221;</p><p>That was clear during his time with the RailRiders.</p><p>Swisher, who helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series, chatted up opposing players, shared some valuable advice with his younger RailRiders teammates, balked when he disagreed with umpires and genuinely had as much of a blast playing in Triple-A as he did when he was a regular in New York&#8217;s lineup.</p><p>In doing so, Swisher may have made himself a viable major league option again.</p><p>He hit 105 homers and drove in 349 runs through four seasons with the Yankees from 2009 to 2012, then went to Cleveland and belted 22 homers with 63 RBI in 2013.</p><p>But Swisher suddenly found himself plagued with knee problems in 2014, and underwent meniscus surgery on both knees near the end of that year.</p><p>He never quite recovered to his old form.</p><p>Swisher played the 2015 season with bulky braces on both knees, the Indians traded him to Atlanta, and he batted a combined .196 with six homers in 76 games between both teams last year.</p><p>Atlanta released Swisher and his $15 million salary just before the start of this season after he struggled badly in spring training.</p><p>The Yankees signed him to a minor league contract, and after a slow start with the RailRiders, Swisher started to find his swing again.</p><p>Playing primarily at first base in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Swisher raised his batting average to .255 by the end of June, slugged seven homers to rank second among RailRiders, and drove in 25 runs in 55 games.</p><p>But he never made that coveted drive from PNC Field back to New York.</p><p>He thanked the Yankees for giving him an opportunity to revitalize his career.</p><p>Thanks for nothing.</p><p>Over the past month, the Yankees were ravished by a rash of injuries at first base, which is where Swisher is stationed now.</p><p>When their starting first baseman Mark Teixeira went down, the Yankees called up Chris Parmelee from the RailRiders.</p><p>When Parmelee suffered a hamstring pull during his second day on the job, they moved Rob Refsnyder &#8212; who never played the position professionally &#8212;to first base.</p><p>They tried backup catcher Austin Romine there for a few games.</p><p>But they never gave Swisher a shot.</p><p>If they had, he probably wouldn&#8217;t be heading on a family vacation for the second half of a baseball season.</p><p>&#8220;Despite not being at the ballpark every day, I will continue to train on a daily basis,&#8221; Swisher Tweeted, &#8220;and evaluate my options for next season at the appropriate time.&#8221;</p><p>Where the RailRiders are concerned, the time he spent in their clubhouse couldn&#8217;t have been more valuable.</p><p><strong>Sudden scare</strong></p><p>RailRiders All-Star outfielder Aaron Judge left midway through the game Friday with what the team said was a slight knee problem.</p><p>Judge came up limping while running to first base on a groundout in the bottom of the fifth inning of a 7-5 victory over Rochester, and wanted to remain in right field.</p><p>&#8220;He felt something pop,&#8221; RailRiders manager Al Pedrique said. &#8220;When he came back to the dugout, he told me he was fine. The team trainer told me to get him out of the game.&#8221;</p><p>That&#8217;s just what Pedrique did, as the RailRiders didn&#8217;t want to take any risks with one of the top hitting prospects in the Yankes organization who may be playing his way into a big league call-up as soon as this season.</p><p>Judge leads the RailRiders with 16 home runs and 54 RBI, was selected as a starter in Wednesday&#8217;s Triple-A All-Star Game and is scheduled to perform in Monday&#8217;s Triple-A Home Run Derby in Charlotte.</p><p>&#8220;Anytime you see a guy slow down and stop like he did, you&#8217;re worrying about him,&#8221; Pedrique said. &#8220;I thought it was either a calf or a knee. For him, it was a knee. He was fine. He didn&#8217;t want to come out of the game.</p><p>&#8220;We didn&#8217;t want to take any chances with anybody.&#8221;</p><p><strong>A mound of success</strong></p><p>The RailRiders explosive offense leads the International League in runs scored, averaging 4.66 per game, with a .266 batting average , with 381 RBI and is second in the International League with 77 home runs.</p><p>But the main reason Scranton/Wilkes-Barre boasts the best record in Triple-A baseball at 55-34 is the way the RailRiders pitch.</p><p>The RailRiders have a 3.00 team ERA, the best in Triple-A, and their 14 shutouts this season is one away from matching the franchise record set by the 2003 Red Barons.</p><p>Despite exchanging some key pieces with the parent Yankees, who just put the RailRiders&#8217; Triple-A All-Star pitcher Chad Green in their starting rotation, the RailRiders remain the stingiest pitching unit in the International League.</p><p>That&#8217;s a credit to new pitching coach Tommy Phelps, who is drawing raves from the staff and is quickly becoming a magician when it comes to fixing mechanics.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Former New York Yankees standout Nick Swisher may have rejuvenated his career during his time with the RailRiders before asking out of his minor league contract to spend time with his family after the birth of his second daughter last weekend. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_TTL051416RailRiders_spt_3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Former New York Yankees standout Nick Swisher may have rejuvenated his career during his time with the RailRiders before asking out of his minor league contract to spend time with his family after the birth of his second daughter last weekend. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_RailRiders-Syracuse_1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Before cutting his season short and opting out of his minor league contract with the RailRiders, former Yankees All-Star Nick Swisher displayed the passion and determination playing in Triple-A that made him a major league standout. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_RailRiders-Syracuse_1.jpg</photo1><caption1>Before cutting his season short and opting out of his minor league contract with the RailRiders, former Yankees All-Star Nick Swisher displayed the passion and determination playing in Triple-A that made him a major league standout. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Paul Sokoloski</p><p>psokoloski@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Paul Sokoloski at 570-991-6392 or on Twitter @TLPaulSokoloski</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Family first: Swisher cuts short a promising comeback attempt