It was the bottom of the seventh inning, with two outs and two runners on first and second, when Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber dug into the left side of the batter’s box. After seeing a pair of balls outside the zone, New York Mets reliever Justin Hagenman went back to his cutter, throwing three 87-mph pitches.
The first, Schwarber took a strike low and inside. The second missed up high, just out of the zone. The third was thrown to the bottom right corner, and created history.
KYLE SCHWARBER REACHES 50 HOME RUNS! pic.twitter.com/8YRpNyJ59n
— MLB (@MLB) September 10, 2025
With Bryson Stott on second, and newfound sparkplug Harrison Bader standing on first, the three watched as Schwarber’s ball sailed 347 feet at about 110.4 mph, where it went right to Monty’s Angle. He and his teammates then, for the fiftieth time this year, circled the bases, and extended the Phillies’ lead from four to seven.
With the blast, Schwarber joined Phillies legend Ryan Howard as only one of two players in franchise history to reach 50 home runs in a single season.
Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber blasts his 50th home run of the season, reaffirming what it means to be the franchise's slugger
This feat equates to a career high for Schwarber, as he became the first person in the National League to hit 50 home runs this season, now leading the league while additionally still holding the league high in RBI (123). He is currently trying to slug the Phillies back to the postseason once more while vying for the 2025 National League MVP trophy. He’s currently on pace to hit 59 home runs, which could logistically happen with just a little over fifteen games left, and would total him one above Howard, who is one of the most notable hitters in the modern Phillies era.
From Howard’s 2005 Rookie of the Year win to his historic 2006 season and the franchise-defining 2008 World Series win, there are so many similarities between these two Philadelphia powerhouses. Both have been known for their involvement in the community; Schwarber and Howard were both honored by the Phillies as the franchise’s Roberto Clemente Award nominee, an award Howard won in 2015.
Regardless of where Schwarber could land in free agency, the only two players to have reached this milestone in a Phillies uniform fully encapsulate the spirit of the city while cleaning up at the dish, regardless of where either of them bats in the lineup. From the community work he's done to the history he's made on the field as a Phillie, Schwarber rightfully deserves to be immortalized in Phillies history alongside someone as impactful as Ryan Howard, and despite not having been a homegrown talent like Howard, the possibility of Schwarber retiring in Phillies' red and white looks more promising by the day.