After six years in the minors, Frank Schwindel finally got his shot last season in the majors. It lasted all of two weeks. A month later he was injured and out of a job. In a cruel turn of events, the Royals broke things off just when he seemed to be breaking through.
So Schwindel signed with the Tigers, and now he's back on the verge of the bigs.
"That was a crazy year," he said Tuesday. "Opening Day starter, the specialist hitting off lefties, and then getting sent down after a couple weeks was pretty tough. Had success there the last two years -- it was not as fun going back the third time. But it was all part of it. Ended up getting injured and took my release, and the Tigers gave me a chance."
Schwindel took advantage of it. In 28 games to close out the season with Triple-A Toledo, the big first baseman hit .327 with nine homers and a .990 OPS. In other words, the same thing he'd been doing for the past two seasons. Schwindel was the Triple-A Player of the Year for the Royals in both 2017 and 2018.
He was such a hit with the fans of the Omaha Storm Chasers the club gave out his bobblehead at a game last summer three months after he'd been released. Naturally, Frank was riding a tank. So here he was, trampling over the minors, unsure if he'd ever break down the big-league wall for good.
That can he hard on the pysche.
"It's definitely not easy," he said. "Back-to-back years Player of the Year and still not necessary getting a shot. Leading the team in a bunch of categories, but still going out there every day trying to get more, trying to get going and stay hot. But just take (positives) here and there.
"It's still playing baseball, I love baseball. I've always liked hitting and I take pride in it, so hanging around as long as I can and putting good at-bats together, hitting the ball hard and seeing what happens."
Good things happened this spring. Invited to Detroit's big-league camp, Schwindel hit two homers in one game against the Red Sox and went on to post an OPS of .876. That earned him another audition at Summer Camp, where he's continued to hit the ball hard.
We'll see where it goes from here. A year removed from 114 losses, the Tigers have spots up for grabs. But not at first base, where C.J. Cron is the starter and the man behind him is Miguel Cabrera. Schwindel, 28, grew up watching Cabrera hit on TV. He's still a bit awed to be on the same field.
"Just unbelievable," he said with a smile.
Schwindel smiles a lot. He has an appreciation for the moment, perhaps spawned by the doubt whether these moments would arrive. To be swinging the bat in Comerica Park -- even for now, even without fans -- is a reward in itself.
"I don't think you can argue with waking up and walking across the street to work, and it's a beautiful stadium like this. You got the big-league uniform on and you're playing against some of the top talent. It's been a lot of of fun, been a great camp so far," he said. "No matter if it's intrasquad, practice, fans, no fans, it's still an awesome opportunity."
As usual, Schwindel's next opportunity isn't clear. A ticket for the taxi squad in Toledo seems likely. But maybe the Tigers will keep him around. Maybe they'll see enough in his swing to give him another whack at the bigs. Maybe after all their recent losing, this year's tank is named Frank.
"I've always been an aggressive hitter," he said. "Looking for a strike to do some damage."
