Kyle Schwarber leading off has been a point of contention for Phillies fans this year. he certainly does not look or play like the typical leadoff hitter. Usually it would be someone like Jimmy Rollins, who filled that role for the Phillies for over a decade. Schwarber is way more similar to what your typical cleanup hitter would look like. And since the Phillies have the typical leadoff hitter on the team in Trea Turner, it is even more confounding more many Phillies fans. The weird part is, it is working. The Phillies have one of the best record in the league since they moved him to leadoff hitter. And not just that, but Kyle Schwarber is having the best season by a Phillies player ever leading off a game.

That is not hyperbole. Jayson Stark joined The Best Show Ever this week, and he shared the stat. Kyle Schwarber’s OPS leading off the game is 1.041. And he said that before Kyle Schwarber hit another leadoff HR in Wednesdays game. His 10th leadoff HR of the season, a Phillies record. If that OPS holds up, it will be another franchise record. Just ahead of Jimmy Rollins who had an OPS of 1.036 leading off games in his MVP season. No other players in franchise history are within 100 points of those two. But he is also hitting .192. And he cant be having a good season with a batting average that low… right?

Well Jayson Stark got into that as well. And he pointed out that while the BA is awful, a lot of the other stats show he is actually having a very good season.

“There has never been a leadoff hitter like this guy in the history of baseball. That is not all bad. He is hitting .192, but his OPS is still still 21% above league average. He has a chance to lead the league in walks, despite hitting .192. That is another thing that has never happened. Have you noticed he is leading the team in RBIs while hitting .192? Nobody has ever led any team in RBIs while hitting .192.”

It is a very weird season for him. You cant deny that batting average is bad. And his play in the field is somehow worse. But he is good at every other aspect of the game. His on base percentage is now over .340 and rising. He walks more than any one in the sport besides Juan Soto, who has also played 3 more games than Schwarber. And he is one of the best power hitters in the game, currently at 41 on the season.

Jayson Stark continued on, speaking about the weirdness of how it somehow works, and gave some insight into why Rob Thomson has stuck with it.

“When I look at Kyle Schwarber, he sort of sums up the whole team. It is not always pretty, it definitely is not perfect. But somehow it works. The team feeds off of him in a lot of ways. I think Rob Thomson’s philosophy is it is working, nothing is broken, why would I want to fix it.”

Now is he actually the best leadoff hitter in Phillis history just because of the OPS? No. I would say Jimmy Rollins MVP Campaign at the very least was still better. But it does show that Schwarber is having a very good season leading off games. An historically good one, even if it is unorthodox.

You can listen to the full Jayson Stark interview below:

You may also enjoy:

Could Bryce Harper Make it to 600 HRs? History Says He Has a Chance

• Barry Bonds-31 years 9 months 3 days- 762 HRs

  Barry Bonds, who obviously is the HR king*, was older than Bryce Harper when he hit 300. But we also know that Barry Bonds had some assistance hitting HRs late in his career. The question is not can Harper hit 762 though, it is can he hit 600? And at the very least, he is ahead of schedule compared to what Barry Bonds did. Harper is almost a year younger than Barry Bonds was the day he hit his 300th. He won’t have HGH helping keep him strong late in his career though

• Hank Aaron - 29 years 2 months 14 days- 755 HRs

  Hank Aaron, the HR King if you discount Barry Bonds for cheating, was over a year ahead of Bryce Harper’s pace. He also did it in two fewer seasons. But he passed the 600 HR mark by 155 Homers. So again, while this does not bode well for Harper passing Aaron, that is not the question at hand. That Aaron was just a year younger than Harper, and went on to hit 455 more, makes you think Harper at least has a chance at 300.

  

  (Photo by Tom Lynn/Getty Images)

• Babe Ruth- 30 years 7 months 3 days- 714 HRs

  The first guy to reach 300 hrs did it when he was just 3 months younger than Bryce Harper. He did do it in far fewer games though. Babe Ruth didn’t start being a hitter full-time until he was 24. And he had 11 seasons of 40 plus HRs, 4 seasons with 50, and 1 with 60. Harper currently only has 1 season of at least 40. So it is hard to compare Harper to Ruth. The advantage Harper has is he started much younger, with nearly a 5-year head start as an everyday hitter. He also can hit 114 fewer Hrs and still make it into the 600 club.

  

  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

• Albert Pujols- 28 years 5 months 19 days

  If you want to make the case for Harper to hit 600, Pujols is not the comparison to make. By Harper’s age, Pujols was actually hitting 400. And he started at 21 whereas Harper started at 19. So in terms of HR production, as great as Harper is, he does not quite compare. Pujols’s early career production is unmatched by almost any else in MLB History. His production waned a bit after 35, but he played until he was 42 to make up for that. He became just the 4th player to hit 700.

  To reach 600, Harper is going to have to play into his 40s like Pujols. But unlike Pujols, he would still have to be hitting 30 a season into his late 30s’. Harper is under contract until he is almost 40, so hopefully for the 2030 Phillies’ sake, that will be the case.

• Alex Rodriguez- 27 years 11 months 8 days- 696 HRs

  A-Rod is the youngest to hit nearly every HR milestone. He got an early start, having his first 30 hr season at 20 years old. And then he came just 4 short of hitting 700. But like Bonds and Sosa, his accomplishments are a bit marred by a cheating scandal. But that aside, he had as good of a power swing as anyone. He had 3 seasons with 50+ homers, more than anyone in MLB history apart from Sosa, McGwire, and Ruth.

  He only had one season with 30+ after 34 though. So while Harper is way behind his pace currently, he can catch up if stays healthier late in his career, doesn’t fall off, and also does not get suspended for an entire season for taking PEDs.

• Willie Mays- 30 years 1 months 29 days- 660 HRs

  Mays is the only player to hit 600 HRs, have 300 steals, and not be connected to a PED scandal. Which is why many will still say he is the best player of all time. Mays was 9 months younger than Harper when he hit 300. He also took some time off to serve in the Military and didn’t return to playing Baseball until he was 23. Mays played until he was 42, and was still showing elite power until he was 35. The similar age bodes well for Harper though.

  

  . (Photo by A. Messerschmidt/Getty Images)

• Ken Griffey Jr.- 28 years 4 months 23 days- 630

  Griffey like Harper and A Rod started young. The latter part of his career was unfortunately marred by a few injuries. He just barely hit 200 Hrs after the age of 31, but he hit so many before He turned 31 that he still got to 600. Had he stayed healthy he likely would have made it to 700. Harper has not had anywhere near the highs Ken Griffey did to this point in his career. And Harper has had more injuries early in his career than Griffey did. But if he flips it, and stays healthy late, he might be able to enter the same club Griffey did when he was 38.

• Jim Thome- 31 years 9 months 8 days- 612

  The only guy who played for the Phillies, and reached 600. He hit 400 as a Phillies but was with Cleveland when he hit 300. He is one of the few people on this list that was older than Harper, by almost a year, when he hit number 300. Thome may be regarded as one of the least exciting players of the 600 HR Club. But he is actually 6th all-time in ABs per HR at 13.76. So in many ways, he may be the most underrated player on the list.

• Sammy Sosa- 30 years 7 months 14 days -609

  Sosa is another one of those guys who held some help reaching 600. So it is hard to compare to him because career HR push is artificial. But in terms of pace, Harper was right in line with him. Despite the help from artificial substances, Sosa only lasted until 38, and his last real power season came at 35. So if Harper stays in better shape than Sosa did, he could surpass what Sosa did just by lasting longer and starting earlier.

  

  Mandatory Credit: Matthew Stockman /Allsport

• Bryce Harper- 30 years 10 months 14 days

  Which brings us to Bryce, He turns 31 in October. So he is younger than 2 of the 9 guys who have done it before them. Many of the guys who were younger than him, shot significantly past the 700 mark. He was younger than both Barry Bonds and Jim Thome. But both also did it in fewer at bats than him

  The lack of 40 HR seasons so far does not bode well for him. He has that potential, but he has been too oft-injured. Harper has just 4 seasons with at least 140 games played. When healthy though, he could easily be a 40 HR guy

  Given his age, he has a shot at 600. But from here on he needs to stay healthy, and he needs to have more seasons of 40 plus. He needs 9 more seasons of 35 or more HRs to reach 600. But if he mixes in some 40 HR season, or even a 50 one, that can get down to 5 or 6. He is also likely going to need to stay an elite player past 35.

  500 is a more realistic target, and at this point, he is a lock to get 400. But surprisingly, it is not out of the question that he could join the 600 HR club. Like Jayson Stark mentioned, age-wise he compares well to the other guys who went on to hit 600.

  BRYCE. HARPER.#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/zy0uCGTa6Q

  — Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 30, 2023

Sign me up for the 97.5 The Fanatic email newsletter!

Become a Fanatic MVP to get the latest info on the Philly Sports landscape, plus access to exclusive content and member-only contests.

First Name *

Last Name

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.