Be honest.
When did you stop doubting Kyle Schwarber?
Because I think a lot of us are still pretending we never did. Pretending we didn't groan a little when he struck out looking in April. Pretending we weren't typing things we're not proud of into the group chat back when this team was 9-19 and we'd just fired the manager. Telling ourselves (and anyone who will listen) that resigning Kyle was just us "keeping things the same."
That guy. The one we questioned.
He's now the first player in all of Major League Baseball to hit 30 home runs this season.
Not "one of." Not "tied for." First. Before anybody else in the entire sport. He did it Sunday with a two-run shot in the seventh to beat the Mets 5-4, because of course he did it against the Mets, in a one-run game, to win it.
We are so back. (We were never gone. He was never gone. We were the problem.)
Let's talk about what this man actually is
Schwarber is not graceful. Schwarber is not a five-tool highlight machine. Schwarber does one thing and the thing is: he hits the ball into a different zip code at the exact moment your heart can't take it anymore.
There is no in-between with him. It's either a strikeout that makes you put your beer down, or a baseball leaving the planet. And somehow, over a full season, the math always lands in our favor.
You know who else operates like that?
Everyone in this city. Every single one of us. All or nothing, no chill, swing as hard as humanly possible and live with it. Schwarber isn't just a Phillie. He's a personality test we all failed the same way.
The part where the rest of baseball doesn't get it
National media will write this up like a stats thing. "Schwarber paces MLB in home runs." Cool. Thanks. Very informative.
They don't get that this is bigger than a number. This is a guy who plays left field like he's fighting it, who looks like he'd absolutely be in the Xfinity Live(Stateside?) line next to you, who hits a ball so hard the broadcast goes quiet for a second.
That's our guy. That's the whole thing. They can have their launch angles and their exit velocity charts. We have a man who makes 45,000 people scream at the same time.
So here's the only real question
Extend him.
I'm not saying mortgage the franchise. I'm saying back the truck up, hand him the keys, and let him hit bombs in red pinstripes until he physically cannot anymore.
This team has put us through it this year. Slow start. New manager in the dugout. Stretches where you genuinely considered watching something else (you didn't, you can't, who are you kidding).
But Schwarber? Schwarber has been the one constant. The guy who shows up, says nothing, and hits the ball into October before anyone else even gets to 30.
Be honest one more time:
Is there a Phillie you trust more right now?
Didn't think so.
Pay the man.
Drop your favorite Schwarber bomb of the year in the comments. We both know you've been waiting to.
