Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber is one of the hardest hitters in the MLB today and in case you need a reminder about that, he just sent everyone a memo Tuesday night in the form of this insane home run in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
488 feet! 120 mph! Kyle Schwarber, oh my goodness. 😱 pic.twitter.com/Mh4VGR4E2B
— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2022
That ball had zero — ZERO — chance of surviving. Padres starter Yu Darvish, who had earlier already given up a homer to Phillies star Bryce Harper, did not even bother to turn his back and look whether there was a chance that that ball would stay in play. He knew that Kyle Schwarber got him good on that one. Everyone also now knows that Darvish is having a major issue with his ability to suppress home runs. As of that Schwarber blast, Darvish has given up a total of six home runs so far in the 2022 MLB playoffs. In his prior start, he allowed the Los Angeles Dodgers to take him deep three times, albeit in a 5-3 road win.
Schwarber finished the regular season with 46 home runs and a .504 SLG. Per Baseball Savant, Schwarber also finished the regular season in the 99th percentile both in terms of hard hit percentage and average exit velocity., He hit just .218 but it's clear that if he makes contact, it is likely going to end up with the ball in the stands.
With that said, here are some of the best reactions on Twitter to Schwarber's bomb in the sixth inning that extended the Phillies' lead to two runs.
When Kyle Schwarber drops a nuclear bomb before Putin pic.twitter.com/1hgoaagcCL
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) October 19, 2022
Kyle Schwarber's home run (119.7 MPH) is the hardest-hit home run in the postseason in the Statcast era.
Previous: Giancarlo Stanton, 118.3 MPH in the 2020 ALDS.
At 488 feet, it was the 2nd-farthest in the Statcast era, behind only Wilson Contreras (491 feet) in the 2017 NLCS.
— PhilliesNotes (@PhilliesNotes) October 19, 2022
Home runs in the pitch-tracking era, since 2008, of at least 119.7 mph:
Giarcarlo Stanton: 121.7 mph, Aug. 9, 2018
Giancarlo Stanton: 121.3 mph, July 25, 2020
Aaron Judge: 121.1 mph, June 10, 2017
Giancarlo Stanton: 119.8 mph, June 11, 2022
Kyle Schwarber: 119.7 mph, tonight
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 19, 2022
Schwarber really sent this ball to outer space pic.twitter.com/MDFX0CeTEH
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) October 19, 2022
Juan Soto remained frozen in right field as Kyle Schwarber's batted ball landed in Petco Park's second deck. A majestic, 120-mph, 488-foot home run on Yu Darvish's first pitch of the sixth inning.
Phillies 2, Padres 0.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) October 19, 2022
SCHWARBER RIPS ONE INTO THE NIGHT.
— Jack Fritz (@JackFritzWIP) October 19, 2022