Schwarber’s kneeling homer goes viral

Kyle Schwarber dropped to one knee and still hit a 414-foot home run for the Philadelphia Phillies on April 13, giving Philadelphia a first-inning lead over the Chicago Cubs. (mlb.com) Major League Baseball’s clip identified the pitch as an 86.7 mile-per-hour changeup from Cubs right-hander Javier Assad, and Statcast measured Schwarber’s drive at 103.5 miles per hour off the bat with a 29-degree launch angle. (mlb.com) The swing came in the bottom of the first inning at Citizens Bank Park, and Schwarber added a second homer later in Philadelphia’s 13-7 win in the opener of a three-game series. (mlb.com) (apnews.com) By April 13, the one-knee shot was Schwarber’s fifth home run of the 2026 season. His first homer of the year had come on Opening Day, March 26, against the Texas Rangers. (mlb.com) (youtube.com) Schwarber entered 2026 coming off one of the biggest power seasons of his career. Baseball-Reference lists him as the National League home run leader in 2025, when he hit 56 home runs and drove in 128 runs for Philadelphia. (baseball-reference.com) That profile helps explain why a 27-second highlight traveled fast. The official Major League Baseball account posted the clip to social media, and Major League Baseball also published a separate field-level angle from the same swing. (x.com) (mlb.com) Philadelphia has leaned on Schwarber’s power again in the season’s first three weeks. The Phillies’ official schedule shows the Cubs game improved them to 10-6, and Schwarber supplied two of the club’s four home runs that night. (mlb.com) (apnews.com) The clip’s appeal is simple on replay: Schwarber was fooled enough to finish on one knee, but the ball still cleared the center-field wall. Major League Baseball labeled it a home run “from one knee,” and the numbers backed up that description. (mlb.com)