Schwarber absolutely stole the show, homering on all three of his swings to give the National League an emphatic win in the most clutch All-Star moment of recent memory. Schwarber launched long balls of 428 feet, 461 feet and 382 feet to give the NL a one-homer edge going into the final round. The AL’s Jonathan Aranda failed to clear the fence, leaving Pete Alonso on the proverbial on-deck circle.
“It was awesome. The guys were really into it. They were yelling, screaming, cheering me on every swing. When that last one goes over, they were all pumped. It was a lot of fun.”
Schwarber, who learned Monday that he’d be part of the swing-off if needed, is the second Phillies player to win MVP honors since the award was first given out in 1962, joining Johnny Callison in 1964.
“They asked that [NL manager Dave Roberts] wanted me to do it,” said Schwarber. “I said, ‘Absolutely. That’s fine.’ You’re just not thinking that you’re going to end in a tie.”
What was going through Schwarber’s mind while facing pitches from Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel?
“It definitely got your heart racing a little bit,” said Schwarber. “Luckily, Dino was throwing great batting practice. He was just grooving it there for you. I had a little bit of familiarity with him from the World Baseball Classic.”
