Schwarber Reaches 1000 Hits with HR and Surpasses McGwire: Phillies Celebrate

Kyle Schwarber surpasses Mark McGwire in home runs after reaching 1,000 hits

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber surpassed Mark McGwire for the most home runs among players reaching their first 1,000 hits. Schwarber hit his 319th home run during Friday night’s 12-5 victory over the New York Yankees.

“I don’t know if that’s good or not,” Schwarber commented.
Kyle Schwarber

Ten days after leading the National League to victory in the first All-Star Game tiebreaker, Schwarber continues to demonstrate his power. On Friday night, he hit two two-run home runs. The first, a historic hit, started the comeback after being down 2-0. Schwarber retrieved the ball after a Phillies fan, who was attending the game with his friends in the right center field seats of Yankee Stadium, caught it.

“I saw it in the video and then I saw the guy throwing,” Schwarber said. “I thought, ‘Oh, everyone has Phillies stuff.’ That was cool.”
Kyle Schwarber

After the game, he met with the trio, gave them each an autographed ball, and they hugged. When he went to get a third ball to autograph, one of the three told him that they just wanted the potential free agent to re-sign with the Phillies.

“You show up at the field every day trying to get a win at the end of the day and I think our fans hold onto that, right?” Schwarber said. “They’ve been fantastic these last 3 and a half years, four years now, the support we get from our fans and it means a lot to me that they know they’re joining our team.”
Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth inning against Will Warren, hitting a 413-foot home run on a fastball on the first pitch. After J.T. Realmuto’s three-run homer against Luke Weaver that built a 6-3 lead in a four-run seventh inning, and the Yankees closed to within one run in the bottom half, Schwarber sent an Ian Hamilton fastball 380 feet into the right field stands. Schwarber reached 1,000 hits with eight more home runs than McGwire. Schwarber has 36 home runs this year, three behind league leader Cal Raleigh, and six home runs in seven games since being voted All-Star MVP. He has 33 multi-home run games.

“I don’t know where we’d be without him,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. “He comes up with one big hit after another. It’s just… it’s amazing.”
Rob Thomson

Schwarber, 32, is eligible for free agency this fall after completing a four-year, $79 million contract. He hit home runs in his three at-bats in the All-Star Game tiebreaker, and when the second half began, Phillies managing partner John Middleton proclaimed: “We love him. We want to keep him.”

“He’s been an incredible force all season,” Realmuto said. “What he’s meant to his team, his offense, is hard to put into words.”
J.T. Realmuto

World Series champion with the Chicago Cubs in 2016, Schwarber has hit 35 home runs in four seasons with the Phillies. He bats .255 with 82 RBIs and an OPS of .960. It also has almost as many home runs as singles (46). Schwarber hadn’t realized he was surpassing McGwire in home runs among the 1,000 hits.