Due in large part to Kyle Schwarber's historic season at the plate, the Philadelphia Phillies will be one of the favorites to win the World Series when the MLB playoffs begin on September 30. The 32-year-old has become one of the league's most feared hitters, leading all of baseball in RBI (132) and sitting atop the National League in home runs (56), entering the final series of the 2025 campaign.
Schwarber has also etched his name in the record books. In August, he became only the 21st player in major league history to hit four home runs in a game, before setting the single-season mark for long-balls by a lefty hitter against left-handed pitching after launching his 23rd of the year off Miami Marlins hurler Ryan Weathers on September 24.
A free agent at season's end, Schwarber's success can be attributed, in some part, to wanting to cash in this winter. However, former St. Louis Cardinals ace and three-time All-Star Adam Wainwright, someone familiar with the slugging All-Star, shared the factors he believes have contributed to the 11-year veteran's career year.
Schwarber's more selective approach has made him even more dangerous
Appearing on the "Phillies Extra" podcast Friday, Wainwright explained to Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer that Schwarber has become more selective at the plate this season, which has led to more opportunities to take advantage of pitcher miscues.
"He works himself into great counts, and he gets mistake pitches more," Wainwright said. "He's really a true, awesome hitter."
An 18-year career and a World Series ring should be reason enough to trust Wainwright's opinion on the game. However, he also has unique insight, having faced Schwarber numerous times while he played for the NL Central rival Chicago Cubs.
Wainwright's acknowledgement of Schwarber's more patient method at the plate is significant because it wasn't always the case. According to Wainwright, the way to get Schwarber out earlier in his career was to take advantage of his aggressiveness while spamming breaking balls he "couldn't hit."
However, Wainwright has now noticed a substantial change.
"For a while there, it was like, 'all right, first pitch of the game, watch out, he's going to ambush,'" Wainwright said. "But, after a while, it was like 'what's the game situation, who's on deck, who's pitching, who's up in the bullpen,' he's thinking of all these things."
Through 159 games, Schwarber is batting just .245, which typically does not translate to success, nor is it an indicator of a hitter with a lot of patience. However, if anyone would notice the subtle changes in Schwarber's tendencies, it'd be Wainwright. The Phillies standout finished 5-for-33 with 11 strikeouts, seven walks, and only one home run over 40 career meetings against the crafty right-hander.
League-wide change in pitching philosophy has helped Schwarber thrive
Due to various factors, including health concerns, rule changes, and the overall improvement of hitters, pitching strategies have begun to evolve in recent years. In Wainwright's opinion, MLB has "more throwers than we have pitchers", a time when there is a greater emphasis on speed and nastiness rather than technique and location.
Wainwright argues that today's pitching style only plays into one of Schwarber's biggest strengths, the ability to ambush mistake pitches.
"What he told me, and I agree with him, pitchers make more mistakes now. They just do," Wainwright said. "It's about heaving the ball, and he doesn't care. Kyle Schwarber doesn't care how hard you throw it. He doesn't care how hard you spin it. If you throw it right down the middle, he's going to smash it."
While Schwarber's maturation at the plate has played a significant role in his incredible 2025 season, it's hard not to consider how the evolution of the game has benefited him and others.
This season, four players have surpassed the 50 home-run mark, including Schwarber (56), Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh (60), Los Angeles Dodgers Shohei Ohtani (54), and New York Yankees Aaron Judge (51). It's only the third such occurrence in MLB history, with the first coming in 1998 and 2001, during the height of the steroid era.
Meanwhile, over the past ten seasons, 27,192 home runs have been hit in baseball, heading into the final days of the 2025 campaign. That's significantly higher than the period between 1996 and 2005 (26,039), especially when taking into account the Covid-19-shortened 2020 season.