It’s been a magical season for Kyle Schwarber. And Thursday night in South Philly, that magic spilled into the kind of history that makes a ballpark buzz for decades.
The Phillies’ designated hitter didn’t just homer. He didn’t just carry his team to a blowout win. He joined a club that feels more like baseball folklore than a record book. Four home runs in one game — the 21st player in Major League history to pull it off, and only the fourth Phillie ever to do it, alongside Ed Delahanty, Chuck Klein, and Mike Schmidt.
By the time the night was over, Schwarber went 4-for-6 with a franchise-record nine RBIs in a 19–4 thrashing of the Braves. And somewhere in those four swings of thunder, he added yet another chapter to a season that has him looking like the most dangerous hitter in the sport.
And the wildest part? He nearly made it five.
When his sixth at-bat rolled around, the Braves had long since surrendered and sent utility man Vidal Bruján to the mound. The lob came in at 57 miles per hour, history sitting there on a silver platter. Instead, Schwarber popped it sky-high — an infield fly, not a fifth home run. As Paul Casella of MLB.com pointed out, Schwarber admitted afterward he knew exactly what was at stake. “I stink against position players,” he joked, almost apologizing to the fans for falling short of the impossible.
Still, the context is staggering. According to ESPN’s Sarah Langs, Schwarber’s 180 homers in his first four seasons as a Phillie trail only Babe Ruth (189 with the Yankees) and Mark McGwire (191 with the Cardinals) in the history of the game. He now sits at 49 homers and 119 RBIs on the year, leading the majors in both categories. That’s more home runs in a season than any Phillie since Ryan Howard’s 58 in 2006.
More than that, it mattered in the standings. The Mets lost, the Phillies won, and the lead in the NL East stretched back to five games. The timing couldn’t have been better, one night after a sweep in Queens had reopened old scars.
For Schwarber, it was a night wrapped in perspective. “It’s pretty cool,” he said afterward. “It was a fun night, great atmosphere. Wouldn’t want to do it with a better group of guys than we have here. The game just cooperated. You can do everything right and get out, and you can do everything wrong and get a hit. Got some pitches and put some good swings on it.”
So in a season that has already felt charmed, Kyle Schwarber just delivered the rarest kind of gift to Philadelphia. A gift that traveled 1,618 feet, lifted a franchise, and joined a lineage that stretches from Delahanty in 1896 to Schmidt in 1976.
On August 28, 2025, baseball handed Philly another night for the ages. And Schwarber — the talk of Major League Baseball once again — delivered it with four unforgettable swings.
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