Michael Schwimer

High school In high school, Schwimer played baseball and was 9–0 in 2004 with a 1.04 ERA while earning the 2004 Alexandria Sportsmen Player of the Year award, and being named the Virginia Independent School League Player of the Year and Second Team All-Metro at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School. He was an Honorable Mention All-Metro pick in 2002, and was named an All-Interstate Athletic Conference selection in 2002–04. Out of high school Schwimer was offered Division 1 scholarships to play football, basketball, and baseball. He was offered a full basketball scholarship to Duke and Louisville. College Schwimer attended the University of Virginia (UVA), from which he graduated in 2008 with a degree in sociology. In 2007, in 23 appearances he held batters to a .229 batting average. He was named to the 2007 Jewish Sports Review All American Team. In 2008, he was 3–1 with a 1.72 ERA and 14 saves as the closer for UVA. His pitching repertoire included a "lively" fastball, a late-breaking "knee-buckling" slider, and a change-up. ==Professional career==

Minor leagues (2008–11) Schwimer was drafted out of college by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 14th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. In the minors, he was a relief pitcher; primarily a closer. He averaged 13.5 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched. Schwimer split 2009 between the Clearwater Threshers of the High-A Florida State League, for whom he had 20 saves (3rd in the league), 48 games (4th in the league), and a 2.85 ERA, Schwimer began 2011 with the IronPigs. With them, he was 9–1 with a 1.88 ERA, and 10 saves. He sported an improved "nasty" change-up, better location of his low-90s-to-95-mph four-seam fastball, and his slider as he relied on deception and control for his strikeouts. He held right-handers to a .068 batting average. He was an International League mid-season All Star, and pitched in the Triple-A All-Star Game. In July, he was named the Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month. He became the 29th UVA player to make it to the major leagues, joining former Cavaliers Javier López, Mark Reynolds, and Ryan Zimmerman currently in the big leagues. After the call-up he said "You can't ask for a better situation than this. Coming to the best team in baseball as a 25-year-old kid, it's a dream come true." The backpack contains snacks for the team's relief pitchers, and team tradition calls for the most junior rookie pitcher to carry it to and from the bullpen. Schwimer made his major league debut on August 21 against the Washington Nationals. On his second pitch in the major leagues, he gave up a game-tying home run to Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa. Schwimer said: "I was thinking that it can't get much better than this. And after a few pitches, I was thinking that it can't get much worse than this." He retired the next eight batters, striking out four of them. Toronto Blue Jays Schwimer was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays on February 23, 2013, in exchange for minor-league first baseman Art Charles. Schwimer was placed on the disabled list at the end of spring training (March 31) with a strained right shoulder. He was removed from the disabled list on May 10 and optioned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. Schwimer was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays on August 5. He was released on August 7. ==Business career==

Schwimer started Big League Advance in October 2016, a company that invests in Minor League players, in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of their future earnings should they make it to the Major Leagues. Average investments are about $350,000. In April 2018, the company was sued by Cleveland Indians minor league catcher Francisco Mejía, who accused the company of predatory lending techniques. In September 2018, Mejía dropped the lawsuit, and apologized for his accusations. In June 2025, the company was sued by San Diego Padres outfielder Fernando Tatís Jr., who also accused the company of “exploitative, predatory business practices". Schwimer started Jambos Picks, a tout service, back in August 2019 only to reverse the course of the business just five months later. He is a contributor to the ESPN show The Daily Wager. Schwimer made his debut on season 8 of High Stakes Poker on December 16, 2020. During Episode 1, Schwimer won the first six-figure pot of the new season with two-pair in a hand against Tom Dwan who had an over pair. Later in the episode, Schwimer made a straight against Bryn Kenney to win another six-figure pot. On Episode 7, Schwimer played a pot with Bellande where he was all-in on the turn with an over pair against the pair and flush draw of Bellande. The two agreed to run it twice, and Schwimer won both boards and doubled to $299,400. Later in the episode, Schwimer made trips on the river, but ran into the full house of John Andress. ==Personal==

He was born in Fairfax, Virginia, to Dan and Cindy Schwimer, and is Jewish. Schwimer was the first Jewish player for the Phillies since Mike Lieberthal. Growing up, he attended Beth El Hebrew Congregation in Alexandria, Virginia, where he went to Hebrew school and had his bar mitzvah. He is 6' 8", and 240 pounds. During his playing career, he trained with former number one ranked professional tennis player Andy Roddick in the off-season. == See also ==