Kyle Schwarber is planning to take part in this month’s Home Run Derby at Citizens Bank Park, but the Phillies slugger says it comes with two conditions.
“Yeah, if everything lines up, I’m there,” Schwarber said Monday. “If this back deal calms down, then I’ll probably do it. But just gotta make sure, one, I’m there, and then two, that this back thing kind of calms down.”
Schwarber, who leads the majors with 30 home runs through 82 games, is tracking toward another career-best power season after setting his previous high with 56 homers last year. He is also a near lock to land on the National League All-Star roster as the backup designated hitter behind Shohei Ohtani, who will start for the NL after finishing first among all players in Phase 1 of fan voting.
The only real question for Schwarber is whether the back issue that forced him out of a June 23 game against the Nationals will stay quiet. That injury was listed as “lower back tightness.”
He returned the next day as a pinch-hitter, then rejoined the lineup on June 25 and has started every game since. Over the Phillies’ last three games, he has gone 4-for-13 with a home run.
MLB has not officially announced his derby participation yet, and that likely won’t be settled until after rosters are revealed July 4. Still, the setup is obvious. The All-Star Game is coming to Citizens Bank Park for the first time, and to Philadelphia for the first time since 1996, giving Schwarber a chance to put his power on display in front of a home crowd that has already seen him take his game to another level over the past two seasons.
He’s no stranger to the Derby stage. Schwarber helped the National League win last year’s All-Star Game in the first-ever swing-off, going deep on all three of his swings to beat the American League 4-3 after the game was tied through nine innings. The format turned into a Derby-style showdown, with three players from each team getting three swings apiece to clear the fence.
Schwarber has also competed in the Derby twice before. In 2018 at Nationals Park, he reached the finals against then-Nationals star and current Phillies teammate Bryce Harper, losing by one home run even though he hit an event-best 55. Then in 2022 at Dodger Stadium, he entered as the top seed but fell to future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols in the first round on a swing-off.
Harper has said he won’t take part in this year’s Derby if he isn’t chosen for the All-Star Game, and he told SI that if he does participate, he’ll need a new pitcher. Harper’s father, Ron, who pitched to him in the 2018 Derby, no longer throws him offseason batting practice. His All-Star spot is far from certain because of the crowded National League first-base picture.
For now, Phillies fans can at least picture the possibility: Schwarber and Harper, once derby opponents, potentially sharing the finals again, this time as teammates and in front of their own crowd.
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