PHILADELPHIA — A few innings before Kyle Schwarber hit what his college coach still calls “the farthest ball that I’ve ever seen,” two of his teammates glanced into the stands and spotted Theo Epstein sitting behind home plate, a black cap tucked low on his head.
But when they looked back after Schwarber’s home run cleared the 40-foot center-field batter’s eye 402 feet from home plate, Epstein appeared to be gone.
“I’m pretty sure that was Theo Epstein being like, ‘I’ve seen all I need to see,’ ” former Indiana pitcher Kyle Hart said by phone this week, recalling the 2014 game at Louisville’s Jim Patterson Stadium. “And then, a month later, the Cubs take [Schwarber] with the fourth overall pick. I would love to ask Theo someday if that was the swing that got him drafted 1-4.”
