How weird? Schwarber banged 47 homers, scored 108 runs, knocked in 104, drew 126 walks, and struck out 215 times. And hit .197.
With 47 homers, 104 RBIs, 215 strikeouts, and a .197 batting average, Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber had one of the most unusual statistical seasons in baseball history last year.How weird? Schwarber banged 47 homers, scored 108 runs, knocked in 104, drew 126 walks, and struck out 215 times. In baseball history, there has been only one other 40-100-100-100-200 player: Aaron Judge — and he batted .284 for the Yankees as a rookie in 2017.
Schwarber has never been an extreme pull hitter. When he participated in the home run derby at the 2022 All-Star Game, he allayed concerns that the contest would mess with his swing because his left-handed power always translated to left-center field as much as it did to right.Schwarber dealt with a balky knee that hampered him on the bases and in the outfield. Maybe that had something to do with it. Or maybe the new rules got in his head.
Schwarber explained that he over-rotated and was “spinning out to hit the ball to where you’re not really having the direction that I want to have.” Rather than going to left field on, say, fastballs away, he was trying to yank them to right.and Johan Rojas likely occupying left and center field, Schwarber is focusing on hitting the ball where it’s pitched. Generally speaking, that means pulling inside pitches and going the other way on pitches away.
The two-strike issue is trickier. Schwarber is known for his selectivity at the plate. He sees more pitches than almost any hitter in baseball, works deep counts, and draws a lot of walks, qualities that made him manager’s preferred choice to lead off the last two seasons, even though he’s the antithesis of a prototypical leadoff man.“If I’m over 70% in two-strike counts, I’m just putting the odds against me,” he said. “So I might not want to walk 120 . I might not want to do that.