Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Kyle Schwarber launched a home run in his first plate appearance of spring training during a Grapefruit League game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 438-foot shot came in the first inning at BayCare Ballpark in Clearwater, Florida. Schwarber's performance marks a strong start after his last homer in the 2025 NLDS.
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Kyle Schwarber ended a long home run drought on Sunday, crushing a 438-foot homer to right field in his first plate appearance of the spring during the Philadelphia Phillies' 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates in a Grapefruit League game at BayCare Ballpark.
It had been some time since fans last saw Schwarber go deep. His previous homers came in Game 3 of the 2025 NLDS at Dodger Stadium, where he hit two, including a 455-foot blast that cleared the right-field pavilion seats—one of only eight such homers in the stadium's history to leave the ballpark.
"I got a good swing off, I guess," Schwarber said. "That’s nice. … It helps the wind was blowing out to right. I don’t know if it would have needed it, but it made it look farther."
Schwarber, who has hit 187 home runs in his first four seasons with the Phillies from 2022-25, trails only Ryan Howard's 198 in a comparable four-season span for the franchise. The Phillies signed him to a five-year, $150 million contract in December, hoping for more power production over the next five years.
In the game, Schwarber was hit by a pitch in the third inning and struck out looking in the fifth. "It was a good first day overall," he said.
Reflecting on his offseason preparation, Schwarber noted he began work around December 1 and started hitting on January 5. "I’ve been the guy who used to hit really early to try to keep things going," he said. "But I just found that, just over the course of time, the more quality things that I do don’t need more time. I feel like you want to get a good, solid foundation of working out and getting your body going before you just start going out there and swinging right away. So, get that set and then get to swinging in the offseason. But don't try to overthink it too much."
