Major League Baseball's All-Star festivities drew to an end late Tuesday night in Atlanta. The 2025 event was more entertaining than previous years because it ended in a 6-6 tie after nine innings.
Rather than going into extra innings to break the tie, both managers, Aaron Boone and Dave Roberts, selected three players from their respective teams to compete in a home run swing-off for the first time in All-Star Game history.
The American League sent Brent Rooker, Randy Arozarena and Jonathan Aranda to swing for the fences. The National League sent out Kyle Stowers, Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso (who never had to swing).
The ending left Philadelphia Phillies fans in a state of bliss as their guy was the hero. They also hope that he can play the hero role again next year as the All-Star Game comes to Citizens Bank Park.
Phillies fans can only hope Kyle Schwarber repeats All-Star Game heroics in red pinstripes next year in Philadelphia
Schwarber was the lone Phillies representative in Tuesday night's contest. Zack Wheeler was also selected to join the National League squad but opted out in favor of rest for the second half of the season.
Schwarber made the most of his appearance. As the National League was down 3-1 in the home run swing-off after the first three hitters took their hacks, the Phillies' slugger homered with each of his three swings to give them a 4-3 lead.
#AllStarGame Swing-off
— MLB (@MLB) July 16, 2025
AL - 3
NL - 4
Kyle Schwarber GIVES THE NL THE LEAD! pic.twitter.com/NPZJciVTYn
That was all that was needed as Aranda failed to knock any balls out of the park.
For his efforts, Schwarber was awarded the Ted Williams All-Star Game MVP Award, despite going 0-2 with a walk in regulation. His heroics likely snagged the award from NL East rival Pete Alonso, who hit a three-run home run in the sixth inning.
The swing-off provided a new level of entertainment for an exhibition event for fans and players alike. Schwarber spoke about the exciting ending, per Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
“It was awesome,” Schwarber said, per Castrovince. “The guys were really into it. They were yelling, screaming, cheering me on every swing. When that last one goes over, they were all pumped. It was a lot of fun.”
Next year, the MLB All-Star Game comes to Philadelphia and at season's end, Schwarber becomes a free agent.
It has become almost essential that the Phillies' front office strikes a deal with their slugger to keep him in red pinstripes for the foreseeable future. He carries the offense more often than not and is a clubhouse leader in every sense of the word.
With the game coming to Citizen's Bank Park in 2026, how poetic would it be if Schwarber could play the hero again in front of his hometown fans?
That is not the only reason that the organization needs to keep Schwarber in Philadelphia, but it would certainly make for an entertaining spectacle.