Blake Swihart Returns Home to Build the Future of New Mexico Sports
For Blake Swihart, coming home means more than returning to familiar places—it means giving back to the community that launched his baseball journey.
Nearly two years ago, the former V. Sue Cleveland High School standout returned to New Mexico, where he first made his name on the baseball diamond. Today, instead of playing on fields, he’s helping build them. Swihart now leads the New Mexico division of Fielder’s Choice Sports Construction, a company specializing in the design and construction of athletic fields, tracks, and courts.
“It’s good to come back and see friends and family—it feels like I never left,” Swihart said. “Being able to specialize in all these fields, tracks and courts is where my heart is. My heart is always in sports.”
Swihart recently shared his experiences with coaches, officials, and athletic directors during the New Mexico High School Summer Conference, reflecting on the path that took him from New Mexico high school baseball to Major League Baseball.
Selected 26th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Swihart spent five seasons in the major leagues, most of it with the Red Sox (and 31 games with the Arizona Diamondbacks). His career reached its pinnacle in 2018 when he helped Boston capture a World Series championship. Despite his accomplishments at the highest level, Swihart says his fondest baseball memories were made in high school long before the bright lights of Fenway Park.
“I remember all the fun I had (at Cleveland HS),” he said. “Everyone was a brother to me, the coaches had my back, everyone wanted to win. I tell people I want to be known as a good person, not just a baseball player. And that’s who I was surrounded by—good people.”
As a high school player, Swihart also represented Team USA on the 18U National Team, winning a gold medal at the World Championships while earning Louisville Slugger All-American honors. Those experiences helped shape a career that eventually led to the major leagues.
For today’s high school athletes chasing similar dreams, his advice is simple: don’t fear failure.
“There’s a lot of lessons learned in your failures,” Swihart explained. “In baseball you fail more than you succeed, and you learn more from your failures than with any success you experience. Try to minimize them and learn from them. Make the correction for the next time. Don’t be scared to fail.”
He also reminds young athletes that success rarely comes quickly. “It’s not all glitz and glamour until you get to the big leagues,” he said. “It’s a lot of 18-hour bus rides and sandwiches, but once you get there, it was worth the ride.”
Looking back, Swihart says time has given him a new appreciation for everything he accomplished. “It was special,” he said. “I look back on it now and realize it took me a while to be proud of myself. Originally, I expected more of myself, and now I have three little boys and an awesome wife. Looking back on it, I got to experience something that less than one-half of one percent of people ever get to do. To be able to win a World Series and experience what I experienced is special, and I cherish those moments forever.”
Although his playing days are behind him, Swihart still follows the organization where he made his major league debut. He recently enjoyed watching Boston’s 15-game winning streak, which tied a franchise record dating back to 1946. “That was a cool streak to watch,” Swihart said. “We had a historic year in 2018 with our 118 wins, and now watching this current team succeed is fun. I’m happy for them.”
These days, Swihart’s impact on the game looks different. Rather than chasing championships on the field, he’s helping create the places where the next generation of athletes will compete, grow, and make memories of their own—a fitting way for one of New Mexico’s own to continue giving back to the sport that gave him so much.
