Kyle Schwarber Crushes His Way To All-Star Game MVP

For most of the night, it looked like the NL All-Star Team would run away with the game this year. Ketel Marte and Pete Alonso helped put them up 6-0 by the 6th inning. Thanks to pitchers like Adrian Morejon and Edwin Diaz, the NL Team blew the lead, and the score was 6-6 after 9 innings. But the game did not go to extra innings. A new wrinkle in the All-Star Game rules led to a swing-off, which is exactly where Kyle Schwarber played hero.

3 swings, and 3 homeruns. Schwarber was the only player in the swing-off to hit 3 HRs. Those 3 Hrs would be the difference. The NL won the event 4-3. The NL did not even need a 3rd player to swing after Rays 1B Jonathan Aranda hit zero in round 3.

It gave the NL only their 2nd All-Star Game Win since 2013. The AL has dominated the event for over a decade, going 10-2 in those past 12 events. Schwarber had had enough. He lifted the team to a win and was named All-Star MVP for it.

“It was awesome,” Schwarber said of the swing off. “The guys were really into it. They were yelling, screaming, cheering me on every swing. When that last one went over, they were all pumped. It was a lot of fun.”

Kyle Schwarber was the Phillies' lone representative at the event. Zack Wheeler opted out, Ranger Suarez declined an invitation, and Cristopher Sanchez could not participate because he pitched on Sunday. It turns out, the Phillies only needed to send one man to change the event.

Kyle Schwarber's future with the Phillies is up in the air. He is a free agent after this season. If he returns, he will have the chance to be an All-Star hero next year too, with Philadelphia set to host the event in 2026 for the 250th birthday of the United States. He also hinted he might contend in the HR Derby again next year. Hopefully, it will be in a Phillies jersey.