The Los Angeles Dodgers honored the Philadelphia Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber with a plaque of his mammoth 455-foot home run he hit at Dodger Stadium in Game 3 of the NLDS. According to MLB.com’s Sonja Chen, the Dodgers installed the plaque on Oct. 9, one day after Game 3, near where the baseball landed beyond the Right Field Pavilion seats in the ballpark.
Dodger Stadium is the third-oldest in MLB and has had some legendary moments throughout its illustrious history. The Dodgers determined that the home run qualified as leaving the ballpark, considering the renovations over the last several years that have changed the design in that area.
Schwarber became the first left-handed batter to accomplish the feat since Pittsburgh Pirates legend and MLB Hall of Famer Willie Stargell. Both are the only hitters who have hit the ball out toward right field at the ballpark.
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Dodgers’ tribute to Kyle Schwarber’s Game 3 home run feels a bit too soon after Phillies’ NLDS elimination
Schwarber’s 117.4 mph rocket of a home run sparked the Phillies’ offense for a change in the series. They went on to get their first and only victory of the NLDS, 8-2, over the Dodgers. The power hitter finished with two homers in the contest.
“I didn’t even see where it landed,” Schwarber said of his mammoth first home run following the win (subscription required), per The Athletic’s Matt Gelb. “I was looking in the dugout trying to get the guys going. Get back in the dugout, everyone is high-fiving. And I knew I hit it good. I was just more focused on our guys there. Anything positive for our offense is going to be great. But, yeah, it was a cool moment.”
The Dodgers’ tribute now feels like salt in the wound, particularly to those Phillies fans who are considered hardcore fanatics of the franchise. Those fans probably find the recognition vexing, considering their team went on to lose Game 4 the same day that plaque was put up in the stadium. The loss eliminated the Phillies from the postseason.
The Phillies fans would have had a more positive reaction to the Dodgers recognizing Schwarber’s home run had Philly gone on to come from behind a 0-2 series deficit to win three consecutive contests and advance to their third NLCS in their past four years.
Philadelphia fans will have mixed feelings over the news. They have an emotional investment in this club. However, Schwarber may come to appreciate the recognition more one day, once the sting of this year’s NLDS loss dissipates,
