Kyle Hart tried not to think about the personal significance of it. He had a large contingent of family members and friends scattered around Great American Ball Park on Monday, Aug. 31.
More than a decade aftergraduating from Sycamore High School, Hart was able to come out of the San Diego Padres bullpen and toe the rubber at the stadium he used to visit growing up.
Hart, a Cincinnati native, entered in the seventh inning Monday night in a pivotal series for the Padres. He promptly delivered two scoreless innings, striking out four and walking one, to help lead San Diego to a 5-0 win over the Reds.
The moment was not lost on him, but Hart wasn't going to let the homecoming be a distraction to the job at hand. The Padres, locked in a tight battle with the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final National League Wild Card spot, had just been swept by the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend (Aug. 28-30) with the bullpen blowing late leads in back-to-back games.
"We struggled to close games out (against the Rays). I was just trying to be laser focused on making sure we got the win and kept some of our big guns out of the game with a 5-0 lead," Hart told The Enquirer. "There was a lot of excitement. I had a lot of people here and the support was amazing. I think I almost had to focus even harder to just get my job done."
For Hart, though, the road to that moment was long and grueling enough that it deserves to be savored.
The other Cincinnati Kyle in the big leagues
Hart grew up a Reds fan and came into his own as a pitcher when Dusty Baker's clubs had a stable of solid hurlers. Mike Leake was one of his favorites. So were Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto and Edison Volquez.
"Those rotations were awesome," Hart said. "Even Aaron Harang, the way that he went out and could throw 120 pitches. He was a workhorse."
Hart eventually became a workhorse himself at Sycamore. A two-time All-Greater Miami Conference selection, he combined to go 10-3 with a 1.90 ERA and 120 strikeouts over 91 ⅔ innings in two seasons with the Aviators. There was another future MLB player with the same name in the same conference – Kyle Schwarber.
Then at Middletown, Schwarber and Hart were in the same grade. The two eventually became teammates at Indiana University after their GMC showdowns.
"I don't remember what happened in our matchups," Hart said. "I was playing the field a couple of times when he hit a couple of balls on to I-275 at Sycamore, dead center field."
The two have yet to reunite in the big leagues. The Phillies and Padres met six times in a 10-day span earlier this season when Hart was in Triple-A.
"It was so random," he said.
Kyle Hart's MLB future was bleak before moving to Korea in 2024
Schwarber and Hart share a forename and a collegiate alma mater, but their MLB paths were anything but similar. Hart was picked in the 19th round of the 2016 draft by the Boston Red Sox. He spent two years moving through the minors, making stops at five different locales before finally reaching Boston. His MLB debut came at Fenway Park on Aug. 13, 2020, during the COVID-shortened season.
Hart made four starts for the Red Sox that season, then it was back to the minor league grind. After two seasons in the Red Sox farm system, he signed with Philadelphia in 2023 and made one Triple-A appearance. He signed with Seattle a few months later and pitched in 18 Triple-A games.
After the 2023 season, Hart's future in baseball was gloomy. He decided to move halfway around the world to play for the NC Dinos of the Korean Baseball Organization.
"It was an easy decision. I didn't have any offers. I didn't even have a minor-league offer at that point. I kind of just asked my wife, 'is this something you're interested in?' She was on board to expand our horizons, literally," Hart said.
While in South Geyongsang, South Korea, the Dinos helped him discover a sweeper that would help pave his way back to the majors. Hart went 13-3 with a 2.69 ERA and a league-best 182 strikeouts in 26 starts for the NC Dinos. He won the Choi Dong-won Award, the KBO's equivalent of the Cy Young.
"It was a great opportunity and a great experience. The people over there were amazing and super hospitable," Hart said. "I wouldn't have done it any differently."
'I'll enjoy it later'
Hart signed a one-year deal with San Diego during the 2025 offseason. He appeared in 20 games with the Padres last season and 20 more in Triple-A El Paso. The bulk of his big-league work came in September, helping the Padres clinch a playoff spot.
"I found my footing in September," Hart said. "I think going through that helped me build a lot of confidence."
Hart re-signed with the Padres just before his 33rd birthday in November, then made the club's Opening Day roster. He spent a month in Triple-A, before he was called up in June. Since then, Hart has increasingly looked like someone who belongs. He posted a 1.08 ERA over 11 August appearances, yielding just two earned runs in 16 ⅔ innings while striking out 19.
His next appearance will be his 40th of the season, which would've sounded crazy when he was moving nearly 7,000 miles from home in 2024.
"A few years ago, I probably would've told you that would be a stretch," Hart said. "There wasn't a whole lot of opportunity for me here."
Hart had already pitched against the Reds once before at Petco Park last September. On Monday, he was home. His wife has a large family from Northern Kentucky, and he still lives here in the offseason. Most of his supporters were still in Reds gear.
"They're not getting Christmas presents," Hart laughed.
He could have allowed himself to get swept up in the moment, but his primary focus was on the Padres' playoffs push. A decade into his professional career, Hart knows how to wait.
"I'll enjoy it later," he said.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Kyle Hart's long baseball journey finally led him back to Cincinnati
