Due to a .128 batting average in the 2009 postseason, Swisher worked with hitting coach Kevin Long to reinvent his swing for the 2010 season. Swisher was a contestant in the 2010 All-Star Final Vote from July 4 to 8. Swisher lobbied for the post with a promotion commercial of him with a surf board to indicate that he would be surfing in Southern California since the game was to be hosted by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In what was to that date the closest vote in Final Vote history, he won the final place on the AL roster ahead of Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Additionally, Swisher participated in the Home Run Derby. Swisher finished the season with a career-high .288 batting average and 29 home runs. Although Swisher was usually hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, he was moved into the #2 slot in the lineup after Nick Johnson went down with an injury and served as a buffer for the middle of the Yankees lineup.