50 home runs first come, Schwaber, OPS era demands a big shot, but why Ohtani can't do it. Still, hit a hit

Sep 10, 2025

50 home runs first come, Schwaber, OPS era demands a big shot, but why Ohtani can't do it. Still, hit a hit
Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber is receiving congratulatory water from teammates during an interview after achieving 50 home runs of the season against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on the 10th (Korea time). AP Yonhap News



Philadelphia Phillies Kyle Schwarber, who is leading the NL home run alone, achieved his first 50 home runs in his life. He seems to be effectively confirming his second career home run title by widening the gap with LA Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani to two.

Schwaber played as the second designated hitter in the home game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park on the 10th (Korea time) and scored one hit, three RBIs and one run from five times at bat to lead the team to a 9-3 victory.

The hit was a home run. With a 4-1 lead, he burst at first and second bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning.




Schwaber, who stepped down as a blunder in all three previous at-bats, strongly hit the 87.8-mile cutter on the fifth pitch of the ball count 3B1S against Mets right-hander Justin Haganman and crossed the middle fence well.

The ball, which flew to the line drive at a launch angle of 24 degrees and 110.4 miles, hit the railing behind the fence that read 409 feet before falling to the ground. It is the first time in 11 games that Schwarber hit a home run with a distance of 437 feet since the game against the Atlanta Braves on the 29th of last month. At that time, he hit as many as four home runs and hit nine RBIs against Atlanta.

50 home runs first come, Schwaber, OPS era demands a big shot, but why Ohtani can't do it. Still, hit a hit
Kyle Schwaber hits a third run in the middle of the seventh inning and celebrates with Bryson Statt. AP Yonhap News
With this, Schwaber became the first in the NL to reach the 50-homer mark, widening the gap with Ohtani (48), the second-ranked player in the category, to two. On the same day, Ohtani scored one hit, one RBI and one run from three times at bat without a home run against the Colorado Rockies.




Schwaber is the second player in Philadelphia's history to have 50 home runs in a season after Ryan Howard in 2006. Howard hit 58 home runs that year and was named NL MVP. Schwaber is the 34th player in history to hit 50 home runs in a season.

As a result, the home run king of both leagues will be decided in more than 50 games for the second consecutive year since last year. Seattle Mariners Cal Raleigh, who ranks first in the AL, has added three more in September to record 53 home runs after drawing his 50th arch against the San Diego Padres on the 26th of last month. Last year, New York Yankees Aaron Judge hit 58 home runs and Ohtani hit 54 home runs to win AL and NL home run titles.

The home run also gave Schwarber the NL RBI lead. Career High in both categories. He has a batting average of 0.240 (130 hits in 541 at-bats), 123 RBIs, 99 runs, 95 walks, 10 steals, an on-base percentage of 0.364, a slugging percentage of 0.562, an OPS of 0.926, and 304 hits.




In addition, Schwarber became the 10th player to hit 50 home runs - 120 RBIs - 10 steals in a season, behind Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Aaron Judge and Ohtani.

50 home runs first come, Schwaber, OPS era demands a big shot, but why Ohtani can't do it. Still, hit a hit
Kyle Schwaber became the second 50-homer hitter in Philadelphia's history. ImagesYonhap News
50 home runs first come, Schwaber, OPS era demands a big shot, but why Ohtani can't do it. Still, hit a hit
LA Dodgers Shohei Ohtani. AFP Yonhap News
Schwarber said after the game "Isn't that really nice? It's even cooler because it's a number that ends in zero. It feels good to see that only a few players have achieved this historically. It is a record that cannot be taken lightly."

After the game, Philadelphia players celebrated Schwaber's 50 home runs at the clubhouse. Coach Rob Thompson said, `50 homers in a season, and you became the 34th player in major league history to hit 50 homers. Congratulations. You're doing so well this season," he said, expressing his congratulations.

Ohtani won the AL home run title with 44 home runs for the Los Angeles Angels in 2023, and moved to the Dodgers last year to win the NL home run king. Although Schwaber continued to run first in the NL until early August, he began to outrun Ohtani with his 39th and 40th arches of the season against Baltimore on Aug. 5. Since then, it has been a toss-up, and on Aug. 29, Schwarber solidified his lone lead by playing four home runs.

The 21st century is the era of the OPS. The batting average, which has traditionally measured a batter's ability, has been reduced to an auxiliary stat. Why is OPS, which combines on-base percentage and slugging percentage, important. Baseball is a game in which the team that scores a lot wins. It can be said that the player's contribution to scoring is high as he gets on base a lot and advances at even one base. This is also the reason why the number of hitters has decreased by 300 and the number of hitters with 40 home runs has increased.

Schwarber is also at the top of the NL with a third walk. He is a typical OPS type hitter who is good at walking and home runs. But Ohtani is way short. Ohtani is marking OPS 1.002. Schwarber is too low a batting average. No matter what anyone says, the basis of on-base percentage and slugging percentage is hits.

Reporter Noh Jae-hyung jhno@sportschosun.com



This article was translated by Naver AI translator.