Though the Philadelphia Phillies are currently sitting in second place in the National League East with a record of 58-44, their 2025 season has been far from flawless.
With an offense that fails to hit with runners in scoring position, one of the weakest bullpens in the MLB, and Bryce Harper’s month-long stretch on the injury list, fans of other teams might be left wondering how the Phils have maintained a winning record.
On July 15 their questions were answered when Kyle Schwarber stepped up to the plate at Truist Park in Atlanta, at the annual All-Star Game during the tie-breaking “swing-off.”
After the American League came back from a 6-0 deficit and tied the game in the ninth inning, MLB fans and players alike saw the first use of the swing-off tie breaker, which was implemented in 2022.
In order to avoid running through pitchers in the event of a tie, traditional extra-innings would not be played. Instead, a miniature home-run derby took place in which three players from each league took three swings—whichever team hit the most home runs would win the game.
In the first round, the Oakland Athletics’ Brent Rooker put the AL on the board with two home runs. The National League’s Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins responded with one of his own.
The next batter from the AL was Randy Arozarena from the Seattle Mariners, who hit another, furthering the deficit to 3-1.
With the NL trailing by two runs, Schwarber was up to bat, and the game-saving moment belonged to him.
He homered directly to center field on his first swing, making it look easy. He hit another 462-foot bomb, tying the contest 3-3. On his final swing, he cinematically dropped to one knee while watching his hit fly toward right field. Schwarber’s final homer scored the NL’s last point of the swing-off.
Schwarber was the only player in the swing-off to hit a home run in each of his three swings.
When the Tampa Bay Rays’ Jonathan Aranda failed to hit one, the NL officially won the game, making it their second All-Star Game victory in the last 10 years.
Though Schwarber did not record a hit in the regular innings of the game itself, his clutch performance in the swing-off led him to be named MVP of the contest. He is the first player in history to receive this honor without getting a hit, and the first Phillies player to win the MVP since 1964.
This year’s All-Star Game took place just beyond the halfway point of the season. After 96 games in 2025, Schwarber ranks fifth in the league in home runs with 30, comfortably ahead of Seiya Suzuki in sixth with 25.
Among the top five, Schwarber appears alongside some of the biggest names in the MLB, including Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and the league’s home-run leader, Cal Raleigh with 38.
Winning the MVP on Tuesday night was an opportunity for his name to appear in the same spotlight as these power-hitting stars. With a relatively unassuming batting average, this exhibition was Schwarber’s chance to show the world that when he hits, he hits hard. With the Phillies’ overall streaky offense, he is one of the few guys that is truly keeping the team afloat this year.
With 60 games left to play in the regular season, Philadelphia sports fans can hope that Schwarber’s performance at the All-Star Game provides the Phils some much-needed momentum going into the latter half of the season. The Phillies’ starting pitching rotation has been excellent all year, and they recently made several valuable acquisitions to the organization in the MLB draft. Currently headed into the trade deadline on July 31, the front office has the opportunity to secure the remaining tools that this team needs if they want to make a serious run for the World Series this fall.
Though Philadelphia sports sometimes tend to produce disappointing season after disappointing season, there is a potential light at the end of the tunnel this year in Kyle Schwarber. At the end of this season, he is set to become a free agent, but with how he has been playing, fans must cross their fingers and hope that Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, re-signs the team’s most feared hitter.