Swanson on son's recovery: 'We're very, very lucky'

DUNEDIN, FLA. -- Speaking with the media for the first time since his 4-year-old son, Toby, was hit by a vehicle and airlifted to a hospital 10 days ago, an emotional Erik Swanson expressed his appreciation for the support his family has received and shared the news the baseball community has been hoping for.

“I stand here, very happily, telling you that in the next day or two, he should probably be going home,” Swanson said. “Just based on the situation, we’re very, very lucky with everything that happened and the outcome of where we’re at now. My wife [Madison] has been absolutely amazing through this entire process. She is very strong. She’s what a strong, courageous mother should be.”

Swanson took some time away from the team after the incident on Feb. 25, but he has recently been back at the Blue Jays’ player development complex between time at the hospital with his family. The reliever opened his comments by thanking the individuals involved with Toby’s emergency care in the moments that mattered most.

“I probably wouldn’t be standing here giving you this update if it wasn’t for the first responders in Clearwater that day and all the staff at Johns Hopkins, how amazing they’ve all been,” Swanson said. “All of my family here with Toronto, the front office, there’s so many people I can name with teammates, their wives. Everybody has been amazing.”

Swanson’s son has been a fixture around the Blue Jays’ complex in the spring and at Rogers Centre during the season. Late in 2023, Toby stood alongside Tim Mayza’s young son, Everett, to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to their dads.

This roster has grown up together in so many ways, many of the players having children of the same ages. The area outside the clubhouse is a beehive of energy on game days, with the players’ children all together. Inside the clubhouse, the veterans with older children are there for the younger players with newborns. It’s a family of its own.

“On behalf of my wife and myself, I don’t think we can put into words how grateful we are for not only the guys that are in that clubhouse, but their wives, as well, and how amazing each of them has been for us the last 10 days,” Swanson said. “Whether it’s people bringing us meals at night or just calling us, sending us texts, checking on Toby, putting videos together for Toby to watch of the other kids. There’s been an unbelievable amount of support and we are forever grateful for those people.”

As manager John Schneider said in his emotional remarks just days after Toby was hospitalized, this has served as another reminder for people in the organization that baseball is just baseball, something that quickly becomes secondary when real life takes the forefront. There will come a time when Swanson is back in game action, ramping up for his second year with the Blue Jays after an excellent debut season in 2023, but those plans are for another day, after Toby has returned home with Swanson and his wife.

“Toby is a very charismatic boy. A very courageous boy,” Swanson said. “He’s strong, tough, very outgoing. I think his personality allowed him to push through a lot of the struggles he’s had to go through the last 10 days and get him through some of those longer days at the hospital. He’s been extremely tough and courageous.”