This story was excerpted from Paul Casella’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
PHILADELPHIA -- This season has been unlike any other for Kyle Schwarber -- but not necessarily for the reasons you might think.
Sure, he's already hit more homers and driven in more runs than he has in any other season of his career. He's on the cusp of just the second 50-homer season in Phillies history and he's making a legitimate run at Ryan Howard's franchise record.
There’s also the "M-V-P" chants that greet him every time he steps to the plate at Citizens Bank Park and the fact that he just became the 21st player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game.
But none of that -- on its own -- is what has made 2025 so special for Schwarber. Instead, it's been the chance to celebrate all of those remarkable moments and accomplishments with one of his biggest fans.
Take this past Thursday night, for example.
After cementing his place in MLB history with four homers against the Braves, Schwarber's teammates doused him in beer in the clubhouse. Managing partner John Middleton stopped by to congratulate him on the historic feat. Schwarber quickly and casually handled all of his postgame media obligations (most of which he spent deflecting praise to his teammates). He then filmed a guest spot for "Abbott Elementary."
In between all that, though, Schwarber shared an unforgettable moment with that aforementioned fan -- someone who's never referred to him as Schwarber or Schwarbs or Kyle or MVP.
Just “Dada.”
"It was funny. I went up and got my family after the game and my one son, Kade, was still awake and my other son was asleep," Schwarber said. "So I'm taking Kade to put him in the stroller and he's smiling and he's got this big cookie in his hands, and he finally goes, 'Dada, you hit a home run!' And I go, 'Yeah? Did you watch me hit home runs?'
"And he just gives me this little smirk and starts jumping up and down like crazy."
It’s a few days later as Schwarber recounts the special moment, but he has a smirk of his own as he does so.
Who can blame him? This is exactly what Schwarber has always envisioned for himself and his family.
All of the home runs are great. The milestones are special. He's grateful for each and every honor and accolade -- of which there are plenty.
But it's the people he's sharing them with -- his wife, Paige, and their children, Kade (3 1/2 years old) and Asher (18 months) -- that make it all worth it.
"I've always said, even before we had our first kid, that I want my kids to know what I do," Schwarber said. "Because at some point, I'm not going to be doing this anymore and they're going to be in their teenage years and off doing their own thing.
"But you want them to always have this little hint of, 'Hey, so this is what dad used to do, pretty cool. He didn't just sit on his butt at home all the time.'"
That's why Schwarber had his boys by his side for this year's Home Run Derby at Atlanta's Truist Park. ("I know Kade is going to be excited to be out there and see balls flying all over the place," Schwarber said at the time.)
Those boys were once again at Schwarber's side, along with Paige, when Schwarber was presented with the Heart & Hustle Award prior to Saturday night's game against the Braves. Schwarber will find a place to keep his latest trophy, but he’ll likely cherish the family photo they took on the field that day even more.
Perhaps he’ll even look back one day and recall the extra effort it took just to make that photo happen given Kade’s fascination with the Phillie Phanatic's nearby four-wheeler. Paige, of course, pulled it all together.
Or maybe Schwarber will enjoy retelling the story of Kade's reaction to his historic four-homer night -- or the first thing he found the boys doing the next day.
"I woke up the next morning and they were already rocking and rolling when I came downstairs," Schwarber said. "And I go over and they're just sitting there watching home runs. It's just funny, you know? I hope those are memories they're going to be able to keep having."
Schwarber has provided no shortage of potential memories this season. Hopefully, Kade is getting old enough to start remembering some of them.
If not, a trip to Cooperstown could help both him and Asher -- and the third child the Schwarbers have on the way -- learn a bit more about their dad.
Just this year alone, Schwarber has sent a couple of items to be put on display at the National Baseball Hall of Fame: The bat he used for his All-Star Game swing-off heroics and the helmet he wore for his four-homer barrage.
And who knows, maybe Schwarber will have his own plaque for them to check out someday, too.