There’s a lot the Red Sox will look back on and regret from the 2022 season, perhaps no bigger decision than to let Kyle Schwarber walk in free agency.
As the Philadelphia Phillies start the National League Championship Series Tuesday night vs. the San Diego Padres, they’ll pencil in a lineup with one of the most unique leadoff hitters in baseball: Schwarber.
He hasn’t done much to help the Phillies in their surprise run past the Atlanta Braves in the N.L. Division Series or past the St. Louis Cardinals in the Wild Card series, going just 1-for-20 with three walks combined, but Schwarber’s presence in the lineup hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Look no further than what happened in Game 3 against the Braves, when the Braves decided to intentionally walk Schwarber to get to Rhys Hoskins, who jacked a three-run homer that led the Phillies to a 9-1 win that ignited the home crowd and gave the Phillies all the momentum.
Intentionally walking Schwarber was the catalyst that led Hoskins to hitting the home run.
“I’m human,” Hoskins told reporters. “I’m a competitor. They’re obviously telling me something right away before I even step in the box.”
The Braves didn’t walk Schwarber because of what he’s done in the playoffs, but because of what he did in the regular season.
Schwarber led the National League with 46 home runs in a remarkable season in which he blew past everybody else not named Aaron Judge, who hit 62 homers in a historic season for the Yankees.
The Red Sox never would say they regret letting Schwarber go to the Phillies after Dave Dombrowski paid him four years, $79 million to become Philadelphia’s leadoff hitter and left fielder. They’d probably point to his league-leading 200 strikeouts and less-than-athletic defense in left field, as well as Triston Casas’ impressive final month that made him look like the first baseman of the future.
But let’s not forget what happened last fall, when Schwarber finally joined the Sox lineup on Aug. 13, 2021, after he was acquired at the trade deadline while on the injured list.
Before Schwarber joined the Red Sox lineup, they had a .322 on-base percentage. When he joined the lineup, manager Alex Cora immediately noticed a difference.
Cora kept saying that Schwarber’s plate approach was infectious. Up and down the lineup the Sox started showing more discipline. And from Aug. 13 through the end of the season, they posted a .347 OBP that was better than all but two other teams in baseball.
Schwarber propelled a team that looked dead in July and early August into a team that rolled over the Yankees and Rays in the postseason and came within two games of a World Series berth.
The Sox were afraid to pay him for several reasons, including his poor defense at first base. He’s a trained catcher who has been moderately serviceable in left field, but the Sox knew they had Casas coming, they still thought Bobby Dalbec would be useful and they wanted to keep a modest budget.
Well, the Phillies had no problem with that decision.
They went from being an average offense to an elite one, while the Red Sox saw their home run total from 219 to 155 and their runs per game drop from 5.12 to 4.54.
That’s not all on Schwarber, of course, but watching Dalbec and Franchy Cordero struggle mightily all year while the Red Sox couldn’t get on base or hit home runs was a clear contrast to what this team looked like a year ago.
Never mind that the Sox couldn’t find a leadoff hitter, a job Schwarber handled perfectly last year.
And remember what Schwarber said at the end of last season?
“This is definitely a clubhouse that I could see myself wanting to stay in,” Schwarber said. “These guys are amazing… This is a World Series clubhouse, and I would love to hopefully see if that opportunity comes back.”
The Red Sox decided against it.
Now Schwarber is setting the table for one of the final four teams standing.
