Kyle Schwarber hit his 41st home run of the season on September 5, 2026, in Philadelphia’s 4-2 win over the Atlanta Braves — and with that swing, a number that keeps growing came back into focus: 228 home runs in his first five seasons as a Phillie, the second-highest total in MLB history for that category. Only Babe Ruth, who hit 235 in his first five seasons with the New York Yankees (1920–1924), has him beat. Schwarber has a few weeks left to catch him. When 2026 ends, the window closes for good.
The List — and Why the Company Matters
The stat, which went viral after a tweet from Sarah Langs, isn’t just an analytical curiosity. The players with the most home runs in their first five seasons with a single team reads like a Hall of Fame roll call:
- Babe Ruth, NYY: 235
- Kyle Schwarber, PHI: 228
- Mark McGwire, STL: 220
- Ralph Kiner, PIT: 215
- Alex Rodriguez, NYY: 208
- David Ortiz, BOS: 208
- Albert Pujols, STL: 201
Six of the seven names on that list are already in Cooperstown or are near-certain future inductees. A quick note on McGwire: his 220 home runs with St. Louis came during the 1997–2001 stretch, seasons he himself acknowledged were tied to steroid use. History puts him on the list; context belongs there too.
Seven Home Runs, About Twenty Games
Schwarber joined the Phillies before the 2022 season and hasn’t slowed down since. He hit at least 38 home runs in each of his first four seasons in Philadelphia, then set a personal best with 56 home runs and 132 RBI in 2025. Since arriving at Citizens Bank Park, only Aaron Judge has hit more home runs across all of baseball.
As of September 5, Schwarber needs seven more to tie Ruth and eight to pass him. He’s hitting 41 home runs through 137 games in 2026 — the highest rate in the league — and roughly 20 games remain in the regular season. The math works in his favor, but the margin isn’t comfortable. The category stops applying to him in 2027, when his sixth Phillies season begins. There’s no extension, no second shot. He either does it in the next few weeks or Ruth keeps the record forever.
Not a Declining Player Chasing a Stat
The September 5 game itself says a lot about where Schwarber is right now. Zack Wheeler (12–5) dominated with nine strikeouts over six innings, Jhoan Duran closed it out for his 30th save, and the Phillies won their 16th game in their last 20. With 43,241 fans at Citizens Bank Park and the team sitting four games behind the Braves in the NL East, Philadelphia is in a real division race — and Schwarber is the offensive engine driving it.
The underlying numbers back that up. His average exit velocity sits at 92.4 mph (92nd percentile) and his barrel rate of 16.9% ranks in the 98th percentile league-wide — meaning almost no one in the majors elevates and hits the ball with that combination of angle and velocity as consistently as he does. A .240 batting average might look modest on the surface, but an OPS of .876 and an xwOBA of .365 (92nd percentile) tell the real story. This isn’t a fading player padding a vanity record. This is one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball, seven swings away from history.
