Looking back at Phillies’ biggest surprise of 2025

The Philadelphia Phillies won 98 games and won their third straight NL East title in 2025, but the team’s biggest surprise wasn’t the team’s third postseason loss in as many years. Instead, Kyle Schwarber’s career-defining season, which stands as one of the most dominant individual performances in recent franchise history, will be remembered as a year of contradiction.

Phillies Home Run leader per season:

2025- Kyle Schwarber 56
2024- Kyle Schwarber 38
2023- Kyle Schwarber 47
2022- Kyle Schwarber 46
2021- Bryce Harper 35
2020- Bryce Harper 13
2019- Bryce Harper 35
2018- Rhys Hoskins 34
2017- Maikel Franco 24

pic.twitter.com/H9ft2uygnR

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) October 30, 2025

At 32, Schwarber put together a season that seemed to defy age, a performance that had analysts reaching for comparisons. The left-handed hitter didn’t just have a solid year; he had a season that redefined what people thought he could achieve.

A Career Year at the Age of 32

Schwarber was regarded as a valuable complementary power source going into 2025, but what actually happened was nothing short of spectacular. He played in all 162 games for the first time in his career and ended the regular season with a league-high 132 RBIs and 56 home runs, both of which put him in elite company.

All things considered, his offensive profile was astounding. Schwarber maintained an OPS of .928 and an on-base percentage of.365 while recording 145 hits, 22 doubles, and 111 runs scored. He won the Ted Williams All-Star MVP Award and was named to the consensus All-MLB Second Team for his career-high 4.9 WAR. Most notably, he hit 23 home runs against left-handed pitchers, which is a crucial statistic for top sluggers who usually have trouble in platoon situations.

There was no denying the statistical dominance. Schwarber’s five 450-foot home runs in a single season surpassed the total number of 450-foot home runs hit by 25 of the 30 MLB teams. This is a breathtaking illustration of his unadulterated power. He was officially named “Slugger of the Year” by ESPN’s Jeff Passan, and although Shohei Ohtani won the NL MVP Award in the end, Schwarber’s second-place result signaled a real two-horse race.

The Historic Four-Homer Game That Defined 2025

Even though the overall numbers were outstanding, Schwarber’s season was best summed up on August 28 against the Atlanta Braves. Schwarber became just the 21st player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game in what may have been the most astounding single-game performance in recent Phillies history.

KYLE SCHWARBER FOUR HOME RUN GAME ARE YOU KIDDING pic.twitter.com/GY7JA2x721

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 29, 2025

Schwarber had an incredible four-home run performance, going 4-for-6 with 9 RBIs in a 19-4 blowout victory. In the first inning, he hit a 450-foot solo shot — in the fourth, he hit a two-run blast — in the fifth, he hit a three-run bomb — and in the seventh, he hit another three-run shot. On what turned out to be one of the most memorable nights in Citizens Bank Park history, the Phillies easily won. The night was so bizarre that Schwarber even recorded an acting cameo for ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” in between games.

The context was what elevated the performance even further. Only three other players in history had ever been given the chance to bat again after hitting three home runs, and Schwarber had only four other opportunities. Schwarber tried to hit an unprecedented fifth home run in the eighth inning while trailing in the count, but the attempt itself demonstrated his unwavering dominance throughout the season.The

The Unexpected MVP Conversation

The quietest fact about Schwarber’s season was probably that it didn’t get talked about much until the end of the year. Typically, a 56 home run, 132 RBI season from a DH, who also happens to be an elite left fielder, would have been an MVP runaway by the start of October. Yet, Schwarber was more like the background noise of the debate while everyone was dazzled by Ohtani’s unbelievable two way player performance.

This was not a fluke or a platform benefit. Across four full seasons with Philadelphia, Schwarber has combined to slash .226/.349/.507 with 187 home runs and 434 RBIs, thereby making him a reliable, steady, and potent power source around which the franchise is essentially centered. His 2025 showing was a significant step forward, not just a sudden anomaly, which implies that Schwarber at 32 might have found new swing mechanics or mental focus that opened up even more levels of production.

It was not really surprising that Schwarber performed at an elite level. What was surprising was that his performance was at a level that hardly seemed possible for a player going into his 32nd season, and at the same time, he was able to keep the kind of durability that he had not had in his earlier years. Going into the 2026 season, the Phillies are one early playoff exit away from last year, and Schwarber’s 2025 domination is the single most significant accomplishment of the franchise a fact that serves as a reminder that the biggest surprises are sometimes the players who just go beyond their usual patterns at the exact right time.

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