Phillies look for Schwarber to muscle up again in 2023

For baseball fans, spring doesn’t begin until the crack of the bat can be heard in major league ballparks throughout Florida and Arizona, signifying that another season has arrived.

For the Philadelphia Phillies, the 2023 season comes with expectations. In 2022, the 87-win Phillies rode a late season surge through the playoffs to the World Series, despite finishing third in the National League East. Now all eyes are on them to see if they can pull it off again.

At the center of those expectations has to be Kyle Schwarber. The burly left fielder with the vicious lefty home run cut was a force to behold last year, his first in the City of Brotherly Love, slamming a league-leading 46 homers and driving in 94 runs largely from the leadoff spot. Of course, he batted only .218 and struck out an even 200 times but he more than made up for that with his power and his 86 walks, which upped his on-base percentage to .323 and his OPS to .827. And he even managed to steal 10 bases in 11 attempts.

In the postseason, it was more of the same: six homers and 10 RBIS in 17 games with that same .218 average and a .937 OPS. He was also three for three in steal attempts. A model of consistency if there ever was one.

If the Phils are to hope to repeat as NL champs, they’ll need similar output from Schwarber to get them past the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets in the East. He and the Phillies can be seen in action against the Boston Red Sox Thursday, March 2, in a preseason game airing from Fort Myers, Fla.