World Series: Kyle Schwarber Did What the Cubs Couldn’t

Part of Schwarber’s attraction is his authentic, Midwestern bona fides. The son of a policeman and a nurse in Middletown, Ohio, Schwarber plays the game with joy and remembers his roots. First responders remain close to his heart, and his Schwarber’s Neighborhood Heroes charity “honors their heroism, courage and devotion to duty.”

“When I got done with school, my dad would pick me up and I’d go right back to the police department with him,” Schwarber said of his youth. “He’d finish up his shift there, and that’s kind of where I first got the clubhouse feeling, right? Where it’s a family because everyone is working together. To see where mom and dad worked as hard as they could so we could do what we wanted, it definitely rubs off on you.”

He was a middle linebacker in high school and played baseball at Indiana University. He also sang in his high school’s show choir (among the featured performances: Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” — “that was a good one,” Schwarber said — and Simon Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water”).

“Toughness and a big heart,” Maddon said. “He is as tough as they get. He is how he looks. He’s straightforward, which I love.”

Houston catcher Christian Vázquez, a teammate of Schwarber’s in Boston last year, remembers how Schwarber always “made the clubhouse happy,” particularly when he would run the music and, at times, even dance.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/29/sports/baseball/kyle-schwarber-phillies-world-series.html