Kyle Schwarber keeps doing Kyle Schwarber things. And those things are starting to look a lot like Babe Ruth things.
The Phillies slugger launched his MLB-leading 31st home run Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds, his hometown team. That blast was more than just another bomb to dead center. It was Schwarber’s 218th homer in five seasons with Philadelphia, which ties him with Babe Ruth for the third-most homers by a player in his first five seasons with a team.
Wait. Ties him with Babe Ruth? That’s right.
According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, the list of most home runs in a player’s first five seasons with a single franchise goes like this: Babe Ruth (235 with the Yankees), Mark McGwire (220 with the Cardinals), and now Kyle Schwarber (218 with the Phillies). Yes, the same guy who started his career as a platoon outfielder in Chicago is now sharing a stat line with arguably the most iconic slugger in baseball history.
Schwarber’s path to Philly history
Schwarber signed with the Phillies as a free agent before the 2022 season, a five-year, $150 million deal that raised some eyebrows at the time. He was coming off a weird year split between Washington and Boston, and critics wondered if a primary DH coming off a .266 average was worth that kind of money.
Four-plus years later, that contract looks like a steal. The Reds, who were one of the teams pushing hard for Schwarber and reportedly hoping for a hometown discount, have to be watching this and wondering what could have been.
Schwarber now has a real shot at catching Ruth. He needs 17 more homers over the rest of this season to tie the record at 235. That would put him at 48 for the year. If he goes on one of his patented heaters and hits 50, he’d own the record outright. By himself. The guy who hits .230 every year but somehow leads the league in homers.
The Phillies have been on a roll under manager Don Mattingly, recently getting Zach Wheeler back from injury and cutting into Atlanta’s lead in the NL East. Schwarber is heading to his third All-Star Game next week, representing the host team in front of the home crowd at Citizens Bank Park.
There’s something almost ridiculous about a designated hitter competing with Babe Ruth for anything. But Schwarber doesn’t seem to care about your preconceptions. He just keeps mashing, one home run at a time, quietly climbing a mountain nobody thought he’d ever reach.
Ruth’s 235 in five years with the Yankees is still the mark. But the gap is shrinking faster than anyone expected.
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