Kyle Schwarber is aging like wine in his age-32 season with the Phillies: "You get older, you get smarter"
Kyle Schwarber's on-base streak has caught the attention of everyone in the Philadelphia Phillies clubhouse. Easy to see why.
Schwarber's on-base streak is now at 46 consecutive games, the fourth-longest by any Phillies player in the modern era (since 1900). Only Mike Schmidt (56 games, 1981-1982), Chuck Klein (49 games, 1930), and Bobby Abreu (48 games, 2000-2001) have longer on-base streaks than Schwarber — which makes his streak even more impressive.
"One of the cool things is seeing who he's tying or passing each day," Phillies shortstop Trea Turner said. "The names that go by are obviously really good and put you in that category of some greatness... Look, it's hard to do, trust me. I wish we all could do it."
Schwarber is hitting .262 with 16 home runs, 37 RBI and 33 runs scored during the streak. He has a .978 OPS with 33 strikeouts to 33 walks. The 46-game streak is the longest by a left-handed hitter in MLB since Shin-Soo Choo reached base safely in 52 straight games in 2018.
"He's a complete hitter to me," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. "He uses the field, takes what they give him. Look at (Sunday), if they want to pitch around him (and) if they want to nibble, he'll take his walks. And if you pitch to him and make bad pitches, he's gonna do damage."
Schwarber is off to a torrid start to the 2025 season as a result of the on-base streak. Heading into Monday's matchup with the St. Louis Cardinals, Schwarber is hitting .269 with 14 home runs and 32 RBI with a .998 OPS in his first 40 games. He's tied with Aaron Judge for the major league lead in home runs, as the 14 home runs are the most by a Phillies player through 40 games since Raul Ibanez had 16 in his first season with the Phillies in 2009.
Schwarber is on pace for 57 home runs, the highest of his career. This comes from a player who has already had two 40-plus home run seasons in a Phillies uniform and continues to improve with age.
"You get older, you get smarter," Turner said. "I think sometimes when you're younger, you kind of have more energy, but you don't know how to channel it. I think his routine has gotten better over time, his preparation has gotten better. Not playing the field helps a little bit too, but you gotta evolve if you wanna play this game (for) a long time. He's done that every single time."
Schwarber didn't have a 40-plus home run season until age 29, his first season with the Phillies. He recorded his first 100-plus RBI season at age 30 and is coming off back-to-back 100-RBI seasons. Schwarber is on pace for a career-high 130 RBI in his age-32 season, along with a career-high in average (.269) and OPS (.998). Schwarber's career-high in RBI is 104 (2022 and 2023), and his OPS is .928 (2021). He also has back-to-back seasons with 100-plus walks.
The on-base streak is a culmination of Schwarber's improvements at the plate. At 32, the Phillies slugger is aging like fine wine.
"It tells me he cares about getting better and helping this team win games," Thomson said. "That's what it's all about."
