My Two Cents: October Magic Nothing New For Slugger Kyle Schwarber

Kyle Schwarber is headed to the World Series for the second time, and he's bringing more of his October heroics with him. The Philadelphia Phillies, after three straight upsets, take on the Houston Astros starting on Friday, with Schwarber a big reason why.

Tom Brew | Oct 28, 2022

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Philadelphia Phillies

Kyle Schwarber is built for these big moments in October. Pressure? Come on. He's been there and done that many times before in the postseason, and now he's primed to win another World Series, this time for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Schwarber, a 29-year-old slugger from Middletown, Ohio, is one of the really good guys in baseball. Everywhere he's played, he's been a fan favorite, a leader and best bud in every clubhouse and a true professional in every part of the game.

Two things define his career: He has a thing for the dramatic — and he wins.

He was a playoff hero for the Chicago Cubs, doing amazing things in 2015 and 2016, and helping the Cubs win the World Series — their first in 108 years — with one of the most amazing physical comebacks in baseball history. After missing practically the entire season with a knee injury, he came back just in time for the World Series against the Cleveland Indians, hitting .412 while the Cubs erased a century of losing.

He also hit three home runs in the postseason last year for the Boston Red Sox and has three more so far this year for the Phillies, the No. 6 seed in the National League that's pulled off upsets of St. Louis, Atlanta and San Diego to reach their first World Series since 2009. This after a 46-homer regular season, second-most in baseball behind Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees.

And prior to that, in college, he was a star at Indiana, talking the Hoosiers to the College World Series in 2013, their one and only trip to the big show.

The Phillies, led by All-Star Bryce Harper, have a lineup full of thumpers, a solid starting rotation and, mostly, that magic touch right now. After starting the season 21-29 and getting manager Joe Girardi fired, they've played great baseball, making the playoffs in the final week of the season.

And then they got hot and stayed hot in the postseason, going 9-2 so far. That pales in comparison to Houston's 6-0 mark so far, but it's still pretty darn impressive.

Schwarber's been getting plenty of attention in the week-long lead-up to the World Series, and most of the story threads have centered around how much everyone likes being around Schwarber.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN, who's based in Chicago and knows Schwarber well from his time with the Cubs, wrote a centerpiece story on Wednesday and even looked back to his time at Indiana, talking to his former coach in Bloomington, Tracy Smith.

"It's hard to put a finger on what he does or how he does it, but he was the one guy in my career — and I hate to admit this because I was the coach — when I had anxiety before a big game, he was the one player I could talk to who gave me confidence going into that game," Smith told Rogers in a phone interview this week. "I can't say that about any other players in my career. It's usually the reverse. He relaxed me."

That's the way it's been for years.

He was a baseball star in Middletown, but he played football too, and that mentality has stuck with him through his career. He was a catcher at Indiana, and hit 40 home runs in three years, the best-ever run in Hoosier baseball history.

He was drafted No. 4 overall by the Chicago Cubs in the 2014 MLB Draft, and was in the majors by the following summer. In the 2015 postseason, he went wild, hitting five home runs, including one that lodged into the scoreboard at Wrigley Field. He became an instant fan favorite, despite his struggles defensively in left field.

And being a fan favorite in Chicago is a huge deal, especially when you win a World Series and break the longest championship drought in the history of professional sports.

How he did it was so cool, too. He tore his ACL out in left field in the second game of the 2016 season in Pittsburgh, and he was surely done for the year. But with his football mentality, he tackled rehab like a beast, and has the Cubs were heading into the playoffs, Schwarber was in Arizona facing live pitching, just in case. Sure enough, the Cubs reached the World Series and by then, he felt healthy enough to contribute, especially since he could be used as a designated hitter in the American League park.

He went 2-for-4 with two RBIs in the Cubs' Game 2 win, and then helped them rally from a 3-1 deficit to take the crown. He had three hits in their dramatic Game 7 victory.

There's been a lot of low points in his career, too. He hit just .211 in 2017 and was actually sent down to the minors for a few weeks. He was a non-factor in their early postseason flameout, hitting .176. His last year in Chicago was the COVID-shortened 2020 season, where he just .188 and the Cubs — who were in full-blown rebuild mode — had no interest in keeping him around long-term.

He signed with the Washington Nationals in 2021, but they were losing and were in rebuilt mode, too, so they traded him to the Red Sox, despite his 25 home runs. He hit .291 for Boston, hit seven more home runs — almost all at opportune times — and then helped them beat AL East rivals New York and Tampa Bay in the wild-card game and AL division series before losing to Houston.

The Red Sox, like the Cubs, just didn't see a long-tern future with Schwarber, but they certainly regret it now. They moved on from Schwarber — and finished dead last in the AL East in 2022.

The Phillies knew better, signing him to a four-year, $79 million deal. He's been great on the diamond with those 46 homers, which led the National League. He's hit three more in the playoffs, including a 488-foot blast in San Diego that will be talked about for years. He's a great clubhouse presence, too.

“He’s done it in a lot of different places, and when that usually happens, that tends to not be an accident,” Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins said. “Some guys just have that knack. They know what it takes to win. They know how to bring guys together, which I think has probably been some of the most important stuff he’s done in a Phillies uniform.”

The Phillies have a lot of young players, too, and they're always congregating around Schwarber's locker. He's seen the ups and downs, and is willing to share his knowledge often.

“He’s very outgoing and very honest with people,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He jokes around about himself a lot which makes people feel comfortable to approach him. He helps the veterans, he helps the kids. And he goes through slumps, too, or periods of time when he’s not swinging the bat particularly well. Even though he’s trying to fix his own stuff, he’s still trying to help other people. That’s a great sign of a great teammate.”

Philadelphia left fielder Kyle Schwarber (12) gestures after hitting a home run in the sixth inning during Game 4 of the NLCS against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park. (Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports)

Schwarber is easy to root for, especially with his Indiana and Cubs ties, and the Phillies head into the World Series as heavy underdogs against the mighty Astros, who were the No. 1 seed in the American League and have been cruising through the playoffs.

Don't be surprised if there's not some more Schwarber magic, though. Much of America will be rooting for him, because this is the Astros after all, and their cheating scandal from 2017 still stains that title.

And that's what is great about Schwarber. Indiana fans still root hard for him, of course, but so do Cubs fans and Red Sox fans. He's just that guy. More October heroics? Don't put it past him.

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