Braves: Tim Corbin reflects on coaching former Vandy standouts Swanson and Wright

Dansby Swanson and Kyle Wright were both Commodores under the great Tim Corbin between 2013 and 2017.

In Swanson’s three years at Vanderbilt, he slashed .285 with 191 hits and 99 RBIs. Wright commanded the mound during his time in Nashville, winning 19 games with a .660 win percentage and 2.57 ERA. The Vanderbilt duo finds themselves reunited once again with the Braves. Together, the old duo battled against the Los Angeles Dodges in the NLCS, only to come two runs short of a World Series berth.

Recently, Tim Corbin and I sat down for a short conversation about the two young studs and their time at Vanderbilt. Corbin said he is excited to see two of his former players competing on the same team again, this time on a much bigger stage.

Question 1: What’s it like to watch your former players together on the same team again, this time in the playoffs?

“It’s exciting because I know how much they like to compete, and I know how team-oriented they all are. We root for all of them, whether they are playing with one another or playing against each other.”

Question 2: When Dansby and Kyle played for you, what did you see in them that made you realize that they had MLB talent?”

“They both have a great belief system in who they are and what they are capable of doing. Very confident young men, but yet their confidence is contained.”

“Their physical skills are different, as well. Dansby has always been a fast-twitch kid who could do things offensively and defensively that made you think he could play at a high level. Kyle reminded us of Adam Wainright at a very young age — the ability to move the ball where he wanted — he had a plan to pitch.”

Question 3: Besides baseball, what stands out to you about these two young men regarding their character?

“If you want to know why those two boys stick out so much, look no further than mom and dad. They are a reflection of their parents. But their parents just let them go while they were here — they released the opportunity to both boys and let them discover success and failures. It’s the reason both boys succeed and why both boys can recover from failure.”