PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Kyle Schwarber said there have been times this season where he has pondered his accomplishments, then quickly switched focus.
“Everything that we’ve got to do is in front of us,” Schwarber said after hitting his National League-leading 55th and 56th home runs in the Philadelphia Phillies' 11-1 victory over the Miami Marlins on Wednesday night.
“It’s about finishing healthy, but you also have to field a lineup, too, and I’m kind of at the bottom of the totem poll there.”
Schwarber
was referencing his essentially full-time role as designated hitter, which he’s done the past two seasons with the Phillies. The switch for the team’s former left fielder has paid obvious offensive dividends.
In addition to his 56 home runs, three shy of major league leader Cal Raleigh of Seattle, Schwarber has never looked so comfortable with his all-around plate game during his Philadelphia tenure. He’s hitting .246 with 132 RBIs out of the two-hole in a deep lineup.
He’s the first Phillies hitter with 80 extra-base hits since Ryan Howard in 2009, and is only two home runs shy of Howard’s 2006 franchise record of 58.
Schwarber reached a milestone of sorts Wednesday night with his first homer, which came off left-hander Ryan Weathers. It was the 23rd home run that the lefty Schwarber has hit off a lefty pitcher this season, a major league record as per Elias. Schwarber surpassed Stan Musial (1949) and Matt Olson (2021), both with 22.
“I think it’s a pretty cool stat,” he said. “There’s been lots of hard work behind that, too, behind the scenes. It kind of takes you back to 2020, where you’re untendered, then you sign a one-year deal (with the Washington Nationals) and get with a really good hitting coach. He kind of came up with a plan and attacked it and I feel like it has really grown over the years.”
Schwarber credits former Nats hitting coach Kevin Long, along with his assistant then, Pat Roessler, with helping him improve his numbers against lefties. Long is now the Phillies’ hitting coach, helping Schwarber improve steadily at just the right time.
For this rather special season of his has come during a contract year. Although there has been much speculation about the Phillies making sure they hold onto Schwarber after the season, it’s going to come at a premium, because at 32 years old he’ll be a pending free agent in great demand.
Though he has only chosen to lightly discuss postseason possibilities, every answer invariably comes around to how special this season can be for him and his teammates.
The Phillies (93-65) will enter the National League Divisional Series as one of the favorites for a championship. They are coming off playoff disappointments in the first round against the Mets in 2024 and in the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks the year before.
“Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s been a successful season, not just for me but for a lot of guys in the clubhouse,” Schwarber said. “Back to back NL East champions, going to the playoffs again, we just got a bye — being one of the top two teams in the National League. So there’s a lot to be proud of. But we’re not done yet.
“You have to keep pushing because you don’t just want to be remembered for regular seasons. You want to be remembered for special things down the road. We know that the postseason is a wild animal and there’s a lot of different things we need to do to walk away with a win at the end of the day.”
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