Kyle Schwarber home runs by the numbers: Breaking down every Schwarbomb from Phillies slugger's 2022 postseason

David Suggs

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Kyle Schwarber home runs by the numbers: Breaking down every Schwarbomb from Phillies slugger's 2022 postseason image

If you come for The Swing King, you best not miss.

Kyle Schwarber's 2022 season was a year defined by its extremes. More often than not, a Schwarber plate appearance ended in one of three ways: he was either going yard (as he did an NL-leading 46 times), taking first after a walk (86 times), or headed back to the dugout after a strikeout (and MLB-high 200 times).

One of the league's best sluggers, Schwarber's hitting approach is a love letter to three-true-outcome baseball, an acknowledgment that for as much as the small-ball strategy can offer to teams, there's nothing quite like the great equalizer that is the long ball.

MORE: What did Bryce Harper tell Alec Bohm before his Game 3 homer?

In the playoffs, Schwarber's commitment to the bit has only intensified. In fact, four of Schwarber's 10 hits this postseason have left the park, including this 443-foot gem from Game 3 of the World Series:

Schwarber has been a machine when he gets contact on the ball all postseason long. With that, Sporting News examines the numbers behind every Schwarbomb this fall.

Kyle Schwarber home runs, by the numbers

Schwarber has lit up the scoreboard during October (and now November), accounting for four home runs in the Phillies' last 10 playoff games after going hitless in the first four. Ironically enough, he ranks just third in the team in playoff homers — Bryce Harper and Rhys Hoskins each have six dingers so far.

However, when it comes to distance covered via the long ball, no one has Schwarber beat. He doesn't tend to get cheated when he gets good wood on the ball, a fact he showcased in Game 1 of the NLCS.

NLCS Game 1

Schwarber sent an errant Yu Darvish breaking ball into orbit during Game 1 against the Padres. Darvish's pitch eventually landed in the second deck, an estimated 488 feet from home plate.

With an exit velocity of 119.7 mph, Schwarber was just off Oneil Cruz's 122.4 mph Statcast record he set earlier this season for hardest hit ball.

Per Scientific Inquirer, Schwarber's jack hung in the air for 5.929 seconds, longer than all but three other postseason homers (as of Oct. 28). To date, it's the longest playoff home run in 2022. Given other ballpark factors — Petco Park sits just 16 feet above sea level, leading to less carry on fly balls on average — Schwarber's Game 1 special is undoubtedly the most scientifically impressive show of force this postseason.

Darvish took the punishment from his former teammate in stride:

MORE: Why Phillies adopted 'Dancing on My Own' as 2022 postseason anthem

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（GettyImages）

NLCS Game 3

Compared to his Game 1 stunner, Schwarber's Game 3 blast paled in comparison. Nonetheless, it still darted across the Philadelphia night sky in impressive fashion.

Schwarber smoked a tailing Joe Musgrove breaking ball into the right field bleachers in Game 3, leading off the game in about as explosive a manner as possible.

It didn't quite have the juice of some of Schwarber's other postseason bombs, traveling just 405 feet. But with an exit velocity of 109.2 mph and a launch angle of 22 degrees, Schwarber's rocket would have landed in the seats in 93.3 percent of major league ballparks. 

NLCS Game 4

Schwarber repeated his full-force feat in Game 4, cranking a Luis Garcia offering into the ferns in center field. Schwarber put so much torque into his jack that he dropped to a knee. The ball carried all the same, though.

Garcia's pitch was a 98 mph sinker, so he didn't quite need to get the same zip he had in his previous postseason at-bats. Still, Schwarber torched the ball, sending it into the atmosphere with an exit velocity of 112.5 mph. That, coupled with an ideal launch angle of 31 degrees, helped Schwarber's blast travel an estimated 429 feet, his third-longest shot of the playoffs.

World Series Game 3

Lastly, we have Schwarber's monster mash from Game 3 of the World Series. One of five Phillies homers hit off Lance McCullers Jr., Schwarber's smash was the pick of the bunch.

It flew threw the air with high-speed velocity — per Statcast, the ball traveled at 113.2 mph off of Schwarber's bat. When paired with another decent launch angle — this one was 27 degrees — Schwarber sent the ball an estimated 443 feet from home plate, a goner in all 30 major league stadiums.

MORE: Was Lance McCullers tipping pitches in World Series Game 3?

Why is Kyle Schwarber batting leadoff?

For all of Schwarber's prodigious power and bat speed, he has featured exclusively as a leadoff hitter this postseason — and in all but two games he has started since May 28.

It's a lineup construction that seemingly goes against all that is right and good in the sport — how does it make sense for a hulking power hitter with below-average contact skills (Schwarber's current batting average sits at .222, just four points better than his regular-season rate) and less-than-ideal speed setting the table for Philadelphia's lineup?

Simply, it just does. Schwarber has the sort of imposing presence that puts pitchers off. And although his batting average is quite low, he has a .393 OBP this postseason — 70 points better than in the regular season — having walked seven more times than any other player in the playoffs.

All of that amounts to a guy who can not only drive people in, but also set things up for Philly's other impressive sluggers. Whether it's Harper, Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto or someone else, it seems as if the Phillies are just able to rack up the runs. Schwarber's ability to get on base is a big part of that — best showcased by the fact that Schwarber has 11 runs scored this postseason, more than anyone save his Phillies' teammates Harper and Realmuto.

David Suggs

David Suggs Photo

David Suggs is a content producer at The Sporting News. A long-suffering Everton, Wizards and Commanders fan, he has learned to get used to losing over the years. In his free time, he enjoys skateboarding (poorly), listening to the likes of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and D’Angelo, and penning short journal entries.