Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber has added another mind-blowing home run to his postseason career in Game 1 of the NLCS on Tuesday night at Petco Park.
In the top of the sixth inning, Schwarber crushed an absolutely ridiculous bomb on a hanging breaking ball from San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.
The home run went an estimated 488 feet with a 120 mph exit velocity. It landed in the second deck — uncharted territory — in the right-field seats at Petco Park.
Schwarber’s star teammate Bryce Harper had a reaction that summarizes how amazing the blast was:
KYLE SCHWARBER! 488 FEET! 120 MPH!
Bryce Harper's reaction to the homer says it all. ⚾️💣💣 pic.twitter.com/cIz7wTiU5r
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 19, 2022
Another look at @kschwarb12’s 2nd deck shot 😲 pic.twitter.com/m7GDlwEbGd
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 19, 2022
It’s the longest homer of Schwarber’s career, and it’s the longest homer in Petco Park history. It’s the second-longest home run recorded by Statcast in MLB postseason history (Willson Contreras hit one 491 feet as Schwarber’s teammate with the Chicago Cubs in the 2017 NLCS).
488 ft is:
– the longest HR of Kyle Schwarber's career
– the longest HR by a Phillie under Statcast (since 2015, + PS)
119.7 mph is:
– the hardest-hit batted ball of Kyle Schwarber's career
– the hardest-hit batted ball by a Phillie under Statcast (since 2015, + PS)
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) October 19, 2022
Kyle Schwarber's home run went an estimated 488 feet per Statcast, the longest home run in Petco Park during the Statcast era and the second-longest postseason homer. Only Willson Contreras's HR against Alex Wood in Game 4 of the 2017 NLCS went further (491). pic.twitter.com/RuEo2kN8Qj
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 19, 2022
Fun fact: the only postseason home run hit further in the Statcast era than the 488-foot one Kyle Schwarber just hit? It was Willson Contreras, going three feet further, on this very day in 2017: pic.twitter.com/KlYvG0mye5
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) October 19, 2022
The home run was officially tracked at 119.7 mph by Statcast. Only Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton (who each homered earlier in the day) have hit home runs with a higher exit velocity in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008). Schwarber’s is the hardest-hit homer in the postseason.
Home runs in the pitch-tracking era, since 2008, of at least 119.7 mph:
Giarcarlo Stanton: 121.7 mph, Aug. 9, 2018
Giancarlo Stanton: 121.3 mph, July 25, 2020
Aaron Judge: 121.1 mph, June 10, 2017
Giancarlo Stanton: 119.8 mph, June 11, 2022
Kyle Schwarber: 119.7 mph, tonight
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 19, 2022
Kyle Schwarber's home run (119.7 MPH) is the hardest-hit home run in the postseason in the Statcast era.
Previous: Giancarlo Stanton, 118.3 MPH in the 2020 ALDS.
At 488 feet, it was the 2nd-farthest in the Statcast era, behind only Wilson Contreras (491 feet) in the 2017 NLCS.
— PhilliesNotes (@PhilliesNotes) October 19, 2022
Harper got the scoring started for the Phillies with a solo homer earlier in the game:
Bryce Harper gets the #NLCS scoring started with a solo homer! ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/gbknOrAr0H
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) October 19, 2022
Schwarber — who hit an NL-best 46 homers in the regular season — didn’t take long into his career to show off his prodigious power in the postseason. In his first career postseason game as a rookie with te Chicago Cubs, he hit a 450-foot homer against Gerrit Cole in the 2015 NL Wild Card Game.
And in the 2015 NLDS, he hit an amazing blast off a scoreboard over the right-field wall at Wrigley Field.
Here’s more reaction from baseball fans to Schwarber’s latest incredible postseason home run:
after careful thought, I've decided Schwarber's home run should've counted as two
— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) October 19, 2022
When you watch Kyle Schwarber hit the longest HR in Petco Park history 😮 pic.twitter.com/7SOMSZ3LlP
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 19, 2022
that ball schwarber hit probably pic.twitter.com/nsSTazzdX8
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) October 19, 2022
Kinda cool of Kyle Schwarber to hit that ball to Los Angeles to make the Dodgers feel like they’re participating
— Razzball (@Razzball) October 19, 2022
my word Kyle Schwarber showed the marine layer who's boss 😱
— Leila Rahimi (@leilarahimi) October 19, 2022
Mom can you pick me up, I'm scared, I just saw Kyle Schwarber do something to a baseball that violated the Geneva Convention
— Emma Baccellieri (@emmabaccellieri) October 19, 2022
[Photo Credit: FS1]
