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          How Phillies' Kyle Schwarber became MLB's ultimate glue guy

          Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
          • Buster Olney, ESPN Senior WriterApr 2, 2023, 12:00 PM
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            • Senior writer ESPN Magazine/ESPN.com
            • Analyst/reporter ESPN television
            • Author of "The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty"
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          ARLINGTON, Texas -- Kyle Schwarber was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies before last season to hit for power, and in this, he excelled, mashing 52 homers in the regular season and postseason combined. That's more than anyone in baseball last season not named Aaron Judge. And Schwarber's home runs -- parabolic, titanic, majestic as they often are -- tended to have the effect of posterizing slam dunks in their impact on crowds, opponents and teammates.