The Legend of Kyle Schwarber Grows

The FanGraphs Newsletter, October 23, 2023 [READ IN BROWSER]( October 23, 2023 The home run that Kyle Schwarber hit off Zac Gallen in the sixth inning of Game 5 of the National League Championship Series wasn’t his biggest of this year’s postseason, unless we’re talking strictly about distance. Like most of Schwarber’s homers, the 461-foot shot was a sight to behold as well as one of the biggest plays of a game that pushed the Phillies to within a win of a return trip to the World Series. With it, the legend of the 30-year-old slugger’s already impressive body of postseason work — which has been aided by his taking trips to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons — grew even larger. Schwarber’s five homers ties the NLCS record set by the Dodgers’ Corey Seager in 2020 and is one short of the major league LCS record held by the Rangers’ Nelson Cruz from 2011; he’s got at least one more game to add to that total. Though he went homerless in both the Wild Card Series against the Marlins and the Division Series against the Braves, he’s already tied for fourth in career postseason homers, helped by his reaching the postseason every year but in 2019 with the Cubs: Of course, the increasing number of postseason games via the addition of the LCS, Division Series, and Wild Card rounds has a whole lot to do with Schwarber’s position on the board as well as those of his contemporaries in his vicinity, four of whom are still playing in the LCS. Just hours before Schwarber hit his big shot on Friday night, Jose Altuve clubbed a three-run homer that proved decisive in [the Astros’ ALCS Game 5 win]( over the Rangers. [READ MORE]( [Eovaldi Keeps Dealing, García Strikes Back in Rangers' ALCS Game 6 Rout]( Framber Valdez finally put up a solid postseason performance, but Nathan Eovaldi and the Texas offense were too much for the Astros. Also, maybe don't hit Adolis García. | by Davy Andrews [Yordan Alvarez, Un-Gameplanable]( The Rangers held Alvarez down in ALCS Game 1. Since then, he's done nothing but hit. Game 7 could hinge on whether Texas can figure him out one more time. | by Ben Clemens [Spinning To Win, Chad Dallas Is Looking Toward Toronto]( The Blue Jays pitching prospect is opening eyes with a breaker-heavy mix. | by David Laurila [Sunday Notes: Southpaw Speier Found Success in Seattle]( Plus Dusty Baker on pennant races, a Leyland-or-Piniella poll, Bobby Scales on Drew Rucinski, facts and stats galore, and more. | by David Laurila 🎧 [Effectively Wild Episode 2075: Right-Hands Man]( [DOWNLOAD THE FANGRAPHS APP]( [FanGraphs & Effectively Wild Merch Is Now Available at BreakingT!]( [ORDER HERE]( [Is this the best possible day of playoff baseball?]( by Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, MLB [Questions for ALCS Game 7, NLCS Game 6]( via ESPN [Max Scherzer’s moment has arrived. The Rangers pitcher has been here before]( by Brittany Ghiroli, The Athletic ($) [@fangraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [FanGraphs]( [RSS]( [FORWARD]( [SUBSCRIBE]( Copyright © 2023 FanGraphs Inc, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the FanGraphs Newsletter. Our mailing address is: FanGraphs Inc 1200 N Hartford St. Apt 312Arlington, Va 22201 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](