Harrison Bader appears to be having a great time so far with the Philadelphia Phillies. Traded to Philly by the Minnesota Twins ahead of last week's deadline in exchange for outfielder Hendry Mendez and pitcher Geremy Villoria, Bader finally got his first hit in Phillies threads Monday night, when he launched a three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
But even that big home run, which gave the Phillies a three-run lead, couldn't overshadow the blast designated hitter Kyle Schwarber had in the bottom of the sixth inning. Apart from it being Schwarber's second homer in the contest, it was, more notably, his 40th of the season.
With that, he set a new record for being the fastest player in franchise history to 40 home runs in a season. Ryan Howard previously held the record, hitting his 40th home run in the 114th Phillies game in the 2006 season. Schwarber reached 40 dingers in the Phillies' 112th contest in 2025.
Schwarber's historic home run made a big impression on Bader, as it reminded him of what it was like being on the wrong side of the three-time All-Star's power.
“He's unbelievable,” Bader said after the 13-3 win over the Orioles (via Paul Casella of MLB's official website). “I've seen it for years — we've all seen it for years — from the other side, and I can tell you with experience now that it feels a lot better to be on his team.”
Long before they became teammates in the City of Brotherly Love, Bader and Schwarber played for rival teams in the National League Central Division; Bader saw action for a total of six seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, four of which were during Schwarber's stint with the Chicago Cubs.
With his third multi-home run of the season, Schwarber also moved past Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani for second for most homers in the 2025 MLB season. Seattle Mariners slugger Cal Raleigh is still first with 42 dingers, while Ohtani and New York Yankees superstar Aaron Judge are third and fourth with 38 and 37 taters, respectively.
