Kyle Schwarber makes history with home run barrage
Kyle Schwarber makes history with home run barrage originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has been on a tear in the first two games of the National League Championship Series, and the former Chicago Cub now finds himself on top of an incredible all-time list.
Schwarber has already launched three home runs in this year’s NLCS, with the Phillies collecting a pair of wins over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park.
The slugger now has 18 home runs in his playoff career, and according to Baseball Reference, that matches Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson for the most ever hit by a left-handed batter in baseball history.
In fact, Schwarber has achieved the feat in significantly fewer plate appearances than Jackson, with just 237 trips to the plate before hitting the 18-home run mark.
Schwarber is slashing .239/.359/.533 in his playoff career, with 47 total hits and 35 walks to his credit in stints with the Cubs, Red Sox and Phillies.
Of course, this news is all bittersweet for Cubs fans, who watched Schwarber walk out the door after the 2020 season when the team non-tendered him, allowing him to become a free agent.
“Listen, he’s always going to be a Cubs legend,” Jed Hoyer said at the time. “There’s no question about that.”
He signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals for the 2021 season, and was traded to the Boston Red Sox. He then signed a four-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies worth $79 million prior to the 2022 campaign.
All he’s done in his two years with the Phillies is blast 93 home runs and drive in 198 RBI’s in regular season play. He hit six home runs combined between the NLCS and World Series last season as the Phillies came close to winning another title.
Meanwhile, the Cubs have not made the playoffs in the three seasons since letting Schwarber go.
Click here to follow the Cubs Talk Podcast.
