He was ahead of his time. A right handed Joey Gallo.

was once traded with HOFer Hoyt Wilhelm for HOFer Luis Aparicio.

how did the obit not mention his classic nickname of "Swish?"

175 K in 520 PA in 1963 was shocking for that era. in fact, it was the all-time MLB record until HOMer Bobby Bonds broke it 6 years later. Swish once whiffed seven times in a doubleheader - not sure that has ever been matched.

His 175 strikeouts in 1963 obliterated the record of 142 set by Harmon Killebrew the year previously, and would remain the MLB single-season record until Bobby Bonds had 187 in 1969.

Edit - Coke to Howie.

This guy was ‘Swish’: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/n/nichobi01.shtml

Makes sense of a nickname for Dave, but I don’t know if he was called that.

HOwie: Bill Nicholson of the WW II CUbs was "swish". This guy was somewhat lesser known.

His career K% of 34.5 would have led the majors in 2022, barely over Patrick Wisdom at 34.3. Gallo (not qual'd in 2022) is a very good comp but Gallo has much better speed and defense. Per 650 PA, Gallo adds 7 runs of dWAR and 2 of baser/dp; do that for Nicholson and he's about a 2.5 WAR player. Because of those peripherals I suppose you could also call him a poor man's Kingman.

I was looking at his record and wondering why in the world the Astros would pick him up to play in their cavernous park but, sure enough, 7 of his 10 HRs were at home. In fairness to the Astros, it was only year 2 of the Dome so maybe they were testing if it was possible for anybody to hit HRs there.

I wouldn't put much stock in 573 feet but even onto the LF roof at old Comiskey would be a prodigious blast.

very true about Bill Nicholson - but shame on any announcing crew that didn't call Dave by the same nickname !

Alas, the b-r bullpen Nicholson page throws cold water on the HR. The Sox originally claimed it cleared the roof (maybe still do) but fans in attendance immediately said they heard it hit the roof. I'm a bit surprised there's no SABR bio on Nicholson.

No evidence at b-r or wiki that he was ever called Swish. I agree this is a shame and possibly marks the tipping point at which all civilization began to collapse.

Both players are before my time. When I first heard that there was a player called Swish Nicholson I assumed it had to be a guy who struck out all the time, and that fits Dave better. Apparently the nickname is not a derogatory one about his contact ability. Bill did lead the league in strikeouts once, back when you could do that with only 83. He was a very good player, though his peak seasons (led league in HR and RBI back to back years) are a bit inflated due to the wartime competition.

Bill Nicholson was in the top 10 in strikeouts for only 6 years, but then he only played in 135 or more games 7 times.

Fun (or sad) fact: Bobby Bonds single season strikeout record lasted for 34 years...and then went from 1st place to a 5-way tie for 36th place less than 20 years later.

Edit: Also somewhat surprising, Mark Reynolds record has now lasted 14 years.

By creating content that is interesting and engaging, businesses can use content marketing to reach a larger audience and build relationships with potential customers. Content marketing allows you to create content that is tailored to your target audience, which helps to make your brand more visible and establish a connection with your customers. https://fitlaptops.com/

I didn't realize that kirstie was a Nigerian name. Go figure.