Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber is the first in the majors to 40 homers this season
It’s the second season in a row that Schwarber reached the 40-homer mark and the fourth time in his five years with the Phillies.
SEATTLE — Kyle Schwarber is the charter member of the 40-Homer Club this season.
What, you expected someone else?
Schwarber, only the most prolific slugger in the National League since 2022, became the majors’ first player to get to 40 home runs with a three-run 425-footer to right-center field in the second inning of the Phillies’ 6-0 victory over the Mariners here Wednesday.
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It’s the second season in a row that Schwarber reached the 40-homer mark. He led the NL last season with a career-high 56 homers. He hit 46 and 47, respectively, in his first two seasons with the Phillies.
“Obviously it’s a good thing because that means you’re hopefully producing runs for your team,” said Schwarber, tied with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the most homers (227) since the beginning of the 2022 season. “But it’s not about going out there and trying to achieve and or attain a certain number. I think it’s just more trying to stack as many at-bats as you can to keep trying to help the team win.”
Schwarber, who has 380 career homers, was also the first player to 30 homers this season. But his pace cooled considerably through the summer, as he dealt with a sore lower back.
After snapping a drought of 78 plate appearances without a homer on Aug. 9, Schwarber has seven homers in 75 plate appearances over his last 16 games.
Tony Gwynn Jr. is a former major league outfielder and son of late Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn. Over the last two years, he got to know new Phillies second baseman Luis Arraez, whose contact skills at the plate often draw comparisons to Gwynn. Tony Jr. joined Phillies Extra to discuss his father, Arraez, and the bonds that connect them. Watch here.
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