Kyle Schwarber’s 50th home run places Phillies slugger in elite company

Griffin Goodwyn

Kyle Schwarber’s 50th home run places Phillies slugger in elite company image

Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

It may have taken Kyle Schwarber 145 games and 541 at-bats, but he finally did it.

In the seventh inning of the Philadelphia Phillies' 9-3 win over the New York Mets on Tuesday night, Schwarber connected on a 3-1 offering from relief pitcher Justin Hagenman. The ball sailed over the fence in left-center field, caroming off the pitch clock and back into the field of play. But that last part didn't matter — Schwarber began jogging around the bases while fans at Citizens Bank Park erupted in a loud roar as the slugger celebrated his 50th home run of the 2025 season.

Schwarber's three-run blast made him just the second player in franchise history to reach the milestone, as former first baseman Ryan Howard hit 58 in 2006. But it also placed Schwarber in elite company in MLB history.

Schwarber becomes 10th player in MLB history to accomplish feat

That home run helped Schwarber raises his numbers on the season to a .240 batting average, 50 home runs, 123 RBIs, 99 runs scored, 10 stolen bases and a .926 OPS.

His home run, RBI and stolen base totals are of note, as only nine MLB players have previously accumulated at least 50 home runs, 120 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in a single season, according to MLB.com's Paul Casella.

That list includes four Hall of Famers (Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr.), two players who may soon see themselves enshrined in Cooperstown (Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge) and three more who likely will not because of their involvement in MLB's performance-enhancing drug scandal in the 2000s (Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez).

Now, Schwarber will have his eyes set on hitting as many round-trippers as he can to help the Phillies carry positive momentum into the postseason. And the more he hits, the stronger his MVP candidacy will look — much like it did for Howard, who claimed the award the year he hit 50-plus home runs.

Griffin Goodwyn

Griffin Goodwyn is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Griffin has covered the MLB and more at Athlon Sports and On3.