Kyle Schwarber Lost the Home Run Derby on His Own Field. He Still Had No Regrets.

Kyle Schwarber was the betting favorite, the hometown hero, and the guy everyone expected to finally win a Home Run Derby.

Instead, he walked off the field at Citizens Bank Park with another runner-up finish — his third in the event — after Jordan Walker of the St. Louis Cardinals erased an 11-homer final round with one swing. Walker needed to hit a home run on his last pitch to win. He crushed it. And just like that, Schwarber was denied in front of 45,000 Phillies fans who had spent the night screaming themselves hoarse for him.

Schwarber didn’t sulk. He didn’t make excuses. He thanked the crowd.

“All the guys were walking up for when they were introduced and like, ‘Man, the home town cooking’s real here.’ And I was like yeah it is. This is Philadelphia. They want their guys to go out there and do it and they’re gonna try to will the other guys not to,” Schwarber told reporters after the loss, via Dave Uram of 94WIP.

The hometown factor was real

Schwarber advanced through the early rounds with the kind of momentum that only comes from having an entire ballpark pulling for you. Every swing drew a roar. Every miss drew a sympathetic groan. The atmosphere was electric, and Schwarber fed off it. But in the final round, Walker stayed locked in. He didn’t flinch when Schwarber put up 11 dingers. He waited for his pitch and ended it.

For Schwarber, it was a familiar ending. He finished second in 2018 in Washington, and now second again in 2026. The only other time he participated, in 2022, he didn’t make it out of the first round. So the trophy remains elusive.

What comes next for Schwarber

The All-Star Game is at Wrigley Field next year. Schwarber started his career with the Cubs, won a World Series there, and still has a strong connection to the city. It’s easy to imagine him giving it one more shot in a place that means something to him. He hasn’t said whether he’ll enter, but the nostalgia factor is hard to ignore.

For now, though, Schwarber is headed back to the regular season grind with the Phillies. He’s having another strong year at the plate, and the team is in the thick of the NL East race. The derby loss stings, but it’s not the kind of thing that lingers for a guy who’s been through bigger moments in his career.

He came close. The crowd almost willed him there. But Jordan Walker had other plans.