Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber Prides Himself On Becoming All-Around Hitter

Kyle Schwarber is in the National League MVP conversation for two big reasons.

The Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter leads the NL with 49 home runs. The 32-year-old’s 119 RBIs top the major leagues.

Last Thursday, Schwarber tied the MLB record with four home runs and set the franchise record by driving in nine runs in a win over the visiting Atlanta Braves. Little wonder that fans at Citizens Bank Park kept chanting “M-V-P” every time Schwarber stepped into the batter’s box.

Kyle Schwarber Raises Batting Average

However, something else about Schwarber’s season stands out. He has a .245 batting average while playing in each of the Phillies’ 138 games.

Batting average is increasingly devalued in this age of advanced metrics. Most baseball people, even those not heavily into analytics, believe on-base percentage and slugging percentage are better indicators of a hitter’s production,

Schwarber is a product of new-age thinking. His ability to hit home runs and draw walks offset his low batting average.

However, Schwarber looks like a player right out of the old school with his stocky build. He has old-school sensibilities when it comes to statistics.

Schwarber hit just .197 in 2023. It was still a productive season as he homered 47 times and drew a career-high 126 walks.

However, hitting under .200 bothered Schwarber.

“Nobody wants to look at the scoreboard and see the number one at the start of your batting average instead of a two,” Schwarber said. “I know batting average might not be the most important stat, but you still have pride. I knew I had to make some adjustments. I couldn’t hit .197 again. I hate it when people confuse a power hitter with a good hitter who has power. I want to be known as a good hitter with power.”

Mental Adjustments Help Kyle Schwarber

So, Schwarber made some mental adjustments rather than an overhaul to his hitting mechanics.

Schwarber has still struck out 164 times in 615 plate appearances this season. That’s not great, but certainly better than his 215 strikeouts in 2023.

“I’ve always believed in working counts and being a selective hitter,” Schwarber said. “You can be picky and sometimes have some borderline strikes called balls. But the adjustment I made was to be more aggressive with pitches in the strike zone. That mentality has paid off. That’s why I’m a better hitter now. I’m not always looking for the perfect pitch, but any pitch that I can do damage on.

“At the end of the day, though, it’s a matter of going to the plate with a good plan, then getting a good pitch.”

Schwarber has done plenty of damage this season. In addition to the power numbers, he has drawn 90 walks, leading to a .366 on-base percentage.

Schwarber was also the MVP of the All-Star Game in Atlanta in July.

Schwarber has played a pivotal role in the Phillies leading the National League East by 5 ½ games over the New York Mets with 24 games remaining. Philadelphia is also 10 ½ games clear of the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants for the third and final NL wild card.

“He’s become just a pure hitter now and with power,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “So that’s really good to see. He’s handling lefties. He’s handling righties. He’s hitting home runs, he’s hitting for average, he’s getting on base, he’s doing everything you need to do to score a run.”

Big Payday Ahead For Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber is also setting himself up for a big contract in free agency this upcoming winter when his current four-year, $79-million deal expires. Schwarber could command a contract of $100 million or more.

Phillies owner John Middleton sounds like he is willing to pay the necessary price.

“We need no motivation whatsoever when it comes to Kyle Schwarber,” Middleton told reporters. “He’s great. We thought he was great when we signed him years ago. We thought he was great consistently through the years. There’s nothing Kyle does that surprises us. No matter how great he is, we expect that from Kyle. He’s a great person in the dugout. He’s a great person in the clubhouse.”

Schwarber is willing to extend his stay in Philadelphia. He and the Phillies talked about a possible contract extension during spring training, but decided to table negotiations until after the season.

“Obviously, there’s interest on my side,” Kyle Schwarber said. “I know there’s going to be interest on their side there coming up at the end of the year. We’re going to see where that takes us. If that’s us striking up a deal, that’s us striking up a deal.”