It was a big day for the veteran outfielder!
Wednesday was a big day for Kyle Schwarber and his family. Not only did he sign a $79 million deal with the Phillies, he welcomed his first child only one hour after he signed on the dotted line.
Schwarber was officially introduced in a press conference held in Clearwater on Monday morning. The 29-year-old outfielder said his wife went into labor one hour after he agreed to a deal, and he is now the father of a baby boy. He called it the “best day of my life.” Congrats, Schwarbs!
Kyle Schwarber was joined by Phillies field manager Joe Girardi and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski for the press conference which was streamed live on MLB Network and Phillies official social media accounts. General manager Sam Fuld was not present.
President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski provided opening remarks, “It’s a very happy day for us as an organization”. He went on to thank the Phillies ownership for allowing the deal to happen. Thank you Dave for thanking John Middleton and company for us.
Dombrowski said the organization’s first call after the lockout immediately went to Schwarber. Assistant General Manager Ned Rice got in contact with the veterans representatives minutes after the lockout officially ended. It took the two sides just a little over three days to get a deal done.
In talking with him, hitting coach Kevin Long mentioned several times in those conversations with baseball operations personnel that Kyle Schwarber was the best, the one they needed to sign the most this offseason, Dombrowski said. Long previously worked with Schwarber when the two were with the Nationals together.
When asked about what he knew about the Phillies and the city in general, he said that he always looked forward to his trips to Citizens Bank Park to hit. Don’t worry, Schwarbs has had a Philly cheesesteak and is a big fan.
Now that Schwarber has officially been introduced as a Phillie, it’s only a matter of time before we see bombs being hit at Citizens Bank Park this summer.