Philadelphia Phillies Slugger Hits Historic Milestone

The long ball has been the story during the Philadelphia Phillies' recent games. Everyone in the lineup is mashing the ball and is a threat to hit one out of the park.

No one on the team has done it better than their slugger Kyle Schwarber.

He launched one of his patented "Schwarbombs" 440 feet over the fence against the San Diego Padres in the fifth inning of Monday night's game. It was his 40th home run of the season and put him into a historic club.

The lefty has now hit 40 home runs in back to back seasons after leading the National League last year with 46 homers. There's a possibility he could equal or surpass that mark in 2023.

There have only been seven players in Phillies' history to have hit 40 home runs in a single season. Doing so in consecutive seasons is something even rarer in the landscape of MLB history.

Despite the power numbers that Schwarber puts up, there are still some critiques that fans and analysts have about the Philadelphia lead off hitter.

"I think I’ve been a topic of conversation for a little bit. I guess the WAR stat doesn't like me. Heck, do I like seeing a .193 [batting average]? No. Do I wish I was hitting higher? Absolutely. But at the end of the day, I have to find a way to be a productive player for the team and help the team win. If that's walking, if it's driving in runs, scoring runs, whatever it is -- that's what I have to do," he told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com.

Getting the power numbers that come with Schwarber also comes with the low batting average. That's the deal. But with his 40 home runs and 89 RBI this season, he provides a major threat at the top of the lineup.

"The average part is frustrating, obviously. But everything else has been there. It's kind of like the double-edged sword, right? But if we keep winning baseball games, heck, that's all that matters," the slugger said.