Phillies' Kyle Schwarber reaches 20-homer mark never seen in MLB history

Phillies' Kyle Schwarber reaches 20-homer mark never seen in MLB history originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Philadelphia Phillies haven't had the best 2026 season, but the vibes have significantly shifted since the firing of Rob Thomson and the appointment of Don Mattingly as manager.

But, if there's been one constant all year, it's been Kyle Schwarber putting together another MVP-caliber season from the designated hitter spot. And after his two-homer night against the Pittsburgh Pirates , he's challenging the history books. OptaSTATS shared a wild record that Schwarber broke by reaching his 20th home run of the season on May 15th.

While the games-played mark is a bit different, Schwarber's pace is still one that no one has ever seen before in MLB history. Kyle Schwarber makes never-before-seen HR history with 20th "Kyle Schwarber of the Phillies hit his 20th HR of the season tonight," OptaSTATS shared on Twitter/x. "This is the earliest date any player has reached that mark in MLB history (previous record: Luis Gonzalez on May 17 in 2001).

" Across MLB history, according to OptaSTATS, there's never been a hitter who's reached 20 homers at an earlier date than what Schwarber just did. Back in 2001, Luis Gonzalez hit his 20th homer on May 17th. 25 years later, and Schwarber has his 20th homer two days earlier in the year than when Gonzalez hit his 20th.