CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Kyle Schwarber had another unforgettable offseason.
His wife, Paige, gave birth to their first daughter and third child in December, shortly after he signed a five-year, $150 million contract with the Phillies. In March 2022, the Schwarbers memorably drove to the hospital about an hour after he agreed to his first contract with the Phillies to give birth to their first child.
But this offseason, Schwarber also followed Indiana’s college football team to the national championship, which included him serving as honorary captain for the Peach Bowl in the semifinal against Oregon.
“I got goosebumps when they called me,” Schwarber said on Friday afternoon at BayCare Ballpark.
Schwarber played college baseball at Indiana before the Cubs selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2014 MLB Draft. After Indiana advanced to the Peach Bowl, Indiana played a highlight video that featured Hoosiers alumni. Schwarber’s image got a huge reaction, so Indiana’s athletic director and assistant athletic director called him.
“You want to be the captain out there for the Peach Bowl?” they asked.
Schwarber and his brother-in-law planned to fly from Dayton, Ohio, to Atlanta for the game in the morning on Jan. 9. But the flight got delayed because of mechanical issues.
“Gosh,” Schwarber said.
Everybody knows how frustrating flight delays can be at the airport because of the lack of real and timely information. Schwarber reacted like anybody would, although not everybody is supposed to be on the field for the coin flip for a college football semifinal.
“I’m getting impatient,” Schwarber said.
Eventually, Schwarber checked an app on his phone to see how long it would take to drive from Dayton to Atlanta. If they left immediately, he figured, they could arrive about 40 minutes before kickoff.
“That’s maybe not calculating hitting Atlanta traffic,” Schwarber said. “So, I go get a rental car. We start driving.”
As he drove from the Dayton airport, Schwarber called Phillies director of team travel Jameson Hall. Schwarber wanted to know if Hall could find somebody at Delta, which charters the Phillies during the season, to get a real update about the still-delayed flight at the airport. If Schwarber got good news, he and his brother-in-law would turn back before it got too late.
Hall called 20 minutes later.
“Hey, great news,” Hall told Schwarber. “They’re switching out the planes.”
Schwarber turned the car around -- they got as far as Cincinnati -- dropped the car back at the airport (he got charged about $40) and he made the flight to Atlanta two hours before kickoff.
Schwarber got to the stadium, made his way to the field and wondered what he might say to the Hoosiers captains who would be walking to midfield with him.
“I’m not going to say a word,” he said. “‘Hey, good luck.’ Fist bump. I’m just going to stand back here, just walk out and stay out of the way. It’s funny. [Pat] Coogan, their center -- I’m like, ‘Good luck.’ He’s like, ‘I’m from Chicago.’”
It meant Coogan remembered Schwarber from when he helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series.
“I’m like, please don’t worry about me,” Schwarber said, laughing. “I’m staying out of the way. ‘I’m like, dude, that’s great. Awesome. Good luck. Please, go win.’”
Indiana won, 56-22.
The Hoosiers won the national championship against the University of Miami at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Jan. 19, a 27-21 victory.
Schwarber was there for that, too.
Presumably, he had an easier time getting there.