Kyle Schwarber joins Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire in exclusive home run history

Stop me if you've heard this before -- but Kyle Schwarber continues to mash home runs at an impressive rate.

After hitting eight home runs in the month of June, Schwarber hadn't homered through his first five games in July. That mini-drought ended on Monday when he hit a 408-foot two-run homer against the Reds at Great American Ball Park. Schwarber hails from just outside Cincinnati in Middletown, OH, and he made sure to deliver in a big way while playing in his home city.

It was his 31st home run of the season. Not only does that lead all of baseball, but it puts him on pace to reach the 60-home run mark this season. Furthermore, it puts him in rarified air when it comes to baseball's all-time home run greats.

Kyle Schwarber cements himself among MLB's all-time home run hitters

Schwarber has possessed plenty of power throughout the course of his 12-year MLB career, but he has reached a new level with the Phillies. The former Hoosier slugger wasted no time making an immediate impact in the City of Brotherly Love, as he blasted a then-career-high 46 home runs in 2022.

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He followed that up with a 47-homer season in 2023, and then hit 38 home runs in 2024. Last season, he led all of baseball with 56 home runs. In total, he hit 187 homers over his first four seasons with the Phillies. Over the offseason, he signed a 5 year, $150 million contract to stay in Philadelphia.

Schwarber's 31 home runs this season give him 218 home runs in Phillies uniform. Throughout the entire course of baseball history, only Babe Ruth and Mark McGwire have hit more home runs over their first five seasons with a franchise. Ruth racked up 235 home runs with the Yankees from 1920-1924, and McGwire totaled 220 long balls for the Cardinals from 1997-2001. Not bad company.

Kyle Schwarber pushing for 400 career home runs

As previously mentioned, Schwarber is on pace to reach the 60-home run mark this season. That alone is an impressive achievement, but it would also give Schwarber another historical milestone.

In his career, Schwarber now has 371 home runs under his belt. Thus, he needs just 29 more home runs to not only reach the 60-homer mark this season, but the 400-home run mark for his career.

As it stands, Major League Baseball's 400-home run club includes just 59 players. The most recent player to join the exclusive club was Mike Trout in 2024. Schwarber is on pace to be the next. So long as Schwarber keeps blasting home runs at his current pace, joining the 400-home run club before the end of the season is well within the realm of possibility.

Schwarber has already been named an All-Star, and Hoosier fans would love to see him participate in the Home Run Derby as well.

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