The post Kyle Schwarber Thrives As The Philadelphia Phillies’ Leadoff Hitter appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber celebrates a home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during … [+] the sixth inning in Game 5 of the baseball NL Championship Series in Phoenix, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri) Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Kyle Schwarber is not your grandparents’ leadoff hitter, which he proves with every majestic blast into the right-field seats. The Philadelphia Phillies wouldn’t have it any other way. In Game 5 of the National League Championship Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he clubbed his fifth home run of the series, setting a new NLCS record with 11 in his career. He also had a home run in the American League Championship Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2021, giving him 12 altogether during the penultimate round of the playoffs. In total postseason action, he tied Derek Jeter for fourth-most ever with 20 dingers despite playing 95 fewer playoff games. Traditionally, the batter at the top of the lineup is a singles hitter who makes plenty of contact, steals bases, plays an up-the-middle defensive position, and isn’t a threat to hit many home runs. Schwarber is the opposite of that in every respect. He only collected 68 singles all season, and several of them would’ve been doubles if he had normal leadoff-hitter speed. His 70.2% contact rate was significantly worse than the MLB average of 76.4% and he led the league with 215 strikeouts. Defensively, he’s a liability in left field and mostly serves as the Phillies’ designated hitter. His 24.9 ft/s sprint speed was well south of the league average of 27.0. There are essentially only two things he does well, but they’re two of the most valuable assets a batter can possess. His most prominent skill is clobbering home runs. His 47 long balls…

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Filed under: News - @ October 22, 2023 3:52 am