At his peak, Ryan Howard was absolutely potent.
There has rarely been a player in a Philadelphia Phillies uniform to ever even approach the things Howard did as a power hitter.
But Kyle Schwarber has entered the chat.
On Tuesday night, Schwarber slugged his 44th home run of the season, and that was a crucial number.
The homer came in the Phillies' 126th game of the season. That's the same number of games it took Howard to get to 44 homers in 2006, per MLB Network's Sarah Langs. It ties the franchise record. Mike Schmidt's best total through 126 games was 39 in 1979.
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That 2006 season finished with a flourish for Howard. He ended up with 58 home runs and 149 RBI.
It started a stretch of four seasons of almost unmatched power. He went 47, 48 and 45 homers over the next three campaigns, with RBI totals of 136, 146 and 141.
Schwarber is chasing his career-high home run total. He hit 47 in 2023 after hitting 46 in 2022.
It's been an impressive run for Schwarber in Philadelphia. He hit "only" 38 home runs in 2024.
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There's suspense coming soon for Schwarber, whose contract is up at the end of the season. Even as a DH-only player, he'll command some hefty money because he's that special as a slugger.
For now, he'll try to keep chasing that Howard total of 58 home runs. If Schwarber has another 14 homers in him before the regular season ends, it'll be great news for the Phillies.
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