From Telus to the Diamond, it was a career change that needed no coaxing.
Baseball was in his blood and when the call came, it never took much coaxing to make the move from PG to Victoria.
John McLean, President of the HarbourCats announced that Jim Swanson will take over as Vice-President and GM of the team, effective Dec. 2.
Swanson will represent the HarbourCats at the West Coast League’s annual General Manager meetings in Salem, Oregon Nov. 22.
Swanson (45) and Wife Lori who is an elementary school teacher have two children, Zachary (13) and Rachel (10) are eager to make the move and be a part of the community.
Swanson was Chair of the World Baseball Challenge which was played at PG’s Citizen Field in 2009, 2011 and 2013. It featured National teams from Cuba, USA, Canada, Japan, Chinese-Taipei, Germany, Bahamas and China.
He was Manager of the host Prince George Axemen team that won Gold at the Baseball Canada Senior Championship in 2012. He was also the Head Coach for Team B.C.’s peewee (13U) team in the CABA World Series in Cincinnati in 2013
Swanson has been the MLB analyst for Dan Russell’s SportsTalk on AM 980 for five (5) years with most of his career being spent in the media.
He was also a television sports anchor, radio commentator and Sports Editor of the Prince George Citizen, where he covered the WHL.
In 1996, Swanson was Co-Commissioner and Administrator for the independent Prairie League of Professional Baseball, an expansive 10-team league located in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
In 1997 he served as Vice-President and General Manager of the Grand Forks Varmints of the Prairie League, and one of his pitchers was Victoria product Trevor Strandlund, a crafty left-hander who threw 100 innings for the Varmints.
Swanson has also coached in four Baseball Canada Senior Championships (2001, 2002, 2007, 2012) and has a Gold and two Bronze medals from those events.
Swanson was an honourable mention on the Bob Elliott/Canadian Baseball Network list of ‘Most Influential Canadians In Baseball’ in 2012, mostly for his work on the World Baseball Challenge.
He also served as an instructor for Toronto Blue Jays Super Camps in Vancouver, Kelowna and Prince George.
He was one of the finalists for the national Community Service Award at the 2012 Canadian Sport Tourism Association Awards and honoured with the 2006 George Connolly Memorial Award for dedication to senior baseball in B.C.
He has served on B.C. Senior Baseball Association and B.C. Minor Baseball Association boards. Swanson was Co-Founder and President of the Western Major Junior Hockey Writers Association when he was beat writer for the Prince George Cougars.
