CLEARWATER, Fla. -- It had been too long.
Nobody had seen Kyle Schwarber hit a home run since he hit two in Game 3 of the 2025 NLDS at Dodger Stadium, which included a 455-foot blast that cleared the right-field pavilion seats, one of only eight homers in the stadium’s history to leave the ballpark.
But Schwarber was back to work in Sunday’s 4-3 loss to the Pirates in a Grapefruit League game at BayCare Ballpark. He crushed a 438-homer to right field completely out of the ballpark in the first inning in his first plate appearance of the spring.
“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 hit 187 homers in his first four seasons with the Phillies from 2022-25. Only Ryan Howard (198 homers) from 2006-09 has hit more homers in a four-season span for the Phillies.
The Phils hope he hits bunches more in the next five years. They signed him to a five-year, $150 million contract in December.
Schwarber was hit by a pitch in the third inning and called out on strikes in the fifth.
“It was a good first day overall,” he said.
Schwarber said he began his offseason work around Dec. 1. He started hitting on Jan. 5, the Monday following New Year’s Day.
“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.”