"Time makes fools of us all" - The Kyle Schwarber Thread

[Derwood]

I'm all for trying it, but we were excited for it last year, too, and it was a disaster

[Cubswin11]

I'm all for trying it, but we were excited for it last year, too, and it was a disaster

Schwarber was a lot better after the demotion and I think we all underestimed (and were jaded by the WS performance) how the lost year of 2016 would affect him and he really should’ve started 2017 in AAA. The guy only played in 71 MLB games (~280 PAs) then missed an entire year at age 23 and was just throw right back in to MLB after not playing for a whole year. That was kinda crazy/stupid when you think about it.

[Derwood]

I'm all for trying it, but we were excited for it last year, too, and it was a disaster

Schwarber was a lot better after the demotion and I think we all underestimed (and were jaded by the WS performance) how the lost year of 2016 would affect him and he really should’ve started 2017 in AAA. The guy only played in 71 MLB games (~280 PAs) then missed an entire year at age 23 and was just throw right back in to MLB after not playing for a whole year. That was kinda crazy/stupid when you think about it.

 

Sure, and as I said, I'm willing to give it a try. I'm just not sure his OBP will merit leading off

[treebird]

I'm all for trying it, but we were excited for it last year, too, and it was a disaster

 

what do you think you are contributing here

[Cubswin11]

I'm all for trying it, but we were excited for it last year, too, and it was a disaster

Schwarber was a lot better after the demotion and I think we all underestimed (and were jaded by the WS performance) how the lost year of 2016 would affect him and he really should’ve started 2017 in AAA. The guy only played in 71 MLB games (~280 PAs) then missed an entire year at age 23 and was just throw right back in to MLB after not playing for a whole year. That was kinda crazy/stupid when you think about it.

 

Sure, and as I said, I'm willing to give it a try. I'm just not sure his OBP will merit leading off

He had a .378 wOBA after the demotion

[17 Seconds]

you're all about to get a sweet adam dunn reference dropped on your asses

[Banedon]

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21817891/cubs-slugger-kyle-schwarber-lost-20-pounds-mission-transform-body-game

 

"Everyone is caught up in the weight-loss thing," Schwarber said between workouts Friday. "I'm not. I'm training my body for 162 games times nine innings or maybe more. I want to be an MVP. I want to be a Gold Glover. I want to set my standards really high."

 

Schwarber has rid himself of the brace on his leg that as recently as last spring he said he thought he would wear for the rest of his career. Not anymore. With weight loss has come less stress on his surgically repaired left knee. Anyway, Murphy believes the brace was a crutch.

 

"The guy came out of the womb hitting a baseball," the trainer said. "Anything you put on his body hinders that."

 

"The swing is not bad, just making it more functional," Schwarber said. "I'm addressing some weaknesses. And you want to keep your strengths still strong."

 

If you're concerned that Schwarber has lost some power with his loss of weight, watching him crush balls over the fence off a tee would quickly put you at ease. It takes a lot of strength to hit a ball 400 feet without the velocity of a pitch aiding the process.

 

But the goal for 2018 isn't to hit them farther. It's to hit them more frequently. Last season, Schwarber missed on nearly 30 percent of his swings, according to ESPN Stats & Information. That was 5 percent more than the league average.

 

"I'll get with Chili [Davis] in the spring, and we'll come up with a plan," Schwarber said. "He's seen some video, but we haven't gone in depth."

 

"He's always been someone teams have had interest in, I guess, but we probably have the most interest," Epstein said of Schwarber last week at the winter meetings.

[Sammy Sofa]

The brace thing is interesting; I wonder how much they could throw off someone not used to wearing one. I'd have to imagine quite a bit, especially if you can't stop focusing on it.

[sneakypower]

It takes a lot of strength to hit a ball 400 feet without the velocity of a pitch aiding the process.

as an aside, this has been almost thoroughly debunked; estimated that each extra MPH adds just about a foot in distance, and that doesn't account for slower speed pitches being vastly easier to barrel

[Transmogrified Tiger]

It takes a lot of strength to hit a ball 400 feet without the velocity of a pitch aiding the process.

as an aside, this has been almost thoroughly debunked; estimated that each extra MPH adds just about a foot in distance, and that doesn't account for slower speed pitches being vastly easier to barrel

 

In comparison to a ball on a tee though? Soft toss/BP speeds sure, but hitting a ball at a standstill 400 feet is no joke.

[sneakypower]

oh yeah i must've skimmed over that detail

[JennieGarthAlgar]

oh yeah i must've skimmed over that detail

 

You literally bolded the words "without the velocity of a pitch"

[David]

oh yeah i must've skimmed over that detail

 

You literally bolded the words "without the velocity of a pitch"

 

He was thinking bp style tossing compared to real pitching

[Bull]

oh yeah i must've skimmed over that detail

 

You literally bolded the words "without the velocity of a pitch"

 

He was thinking bp style tossing compared to real pitching

So even if we go with 1 foot added per mph, he’d be adding 80-100 ft with live pitching. 480-500 ft bombs. Dude is a beast.

[Splendid Splinter]

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Saw somewhere that he's down to 195 from 235 last year although I'm not sure if that's true.

[David]

[tweet]

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[ConstableRabbit]

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I generally love this kind of soft stuff but showing Kyle single-repping a 135 hexbar deadlift in a "he's-in-shape" video when he can probably get closer to 600 is hilarious.

[ConstableRabbit]

And who else thought he was wearing a Dominos hat?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I generally love this kind of soft stuff but showing Kyle single-repping a 135 hexbar deadlift in a "he's-in-shape" video when he can probably get closer to 600 is hilarious.

 

and what's with him hitting off a tee, a 6 year old can do that but I know Kyle can hit 95 mph fastballs

[ConstableRabbit]

I generally love this kind of soft stuff but showing Kyle single-repping a 135 hexbar deadlift in a "he's-in-shape" video when he can probably get closer to 600 is hilarious.

 

and what's with him hitting off a tee, a 6 year old can do that but I know Kyle can hit 95 mph fastballs

That's... not the same thing. If Kyle is deadlifting 135lbs, he's doing 100 reps. The point was that someone had one second to show him weightlifting in a video and chose an unimpressive weight.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I generally love this kind of soft stuff but showing Kyle single-repping a 135 hexbar deadlift in a "he's-in-shape" video when he can probably get closer to 600 is hilarious.

 

and what's with him hitting off a tee, a 6 year old can do that but I know Kyle can hit 95 mph fastballs

That's... not the same thing. If Kyle is deadlifting 135lbs, he's doing 100 reps. The point was that someone had one second to show him weightlifting in a video and chose an unimpressive weight.

 

I was mostly just messing with you, but there's a nugget of truth that training and improving doesn't require the most impressive physical achievements all the time, so I don't really notice it in a hype video about his training. I think there might be two 45 plates on each side too, but I'm not much of a weight lifter so I'll take your word for it.

[JennieGarthAlgar]

The first time I saw a picture of Kyle and Paige sitting on a balcony this offseason I legit assumed she was his sister. They kinda look like they could be related IMO.

[jersey cubs fan]

It's definitely just one 45 on each side.

[ConstableRabbit]

The first time I saw a picture of Kyle and Paige sitting on a balcony this offseason I legit assumed she was his sister. They kinda look like they could be related IMO.

Same.

[ConstableRabbit]

 

and what's with him hitting off a tee, a 6 year old can do that but I know Kyle can hit 95 mph fastballs

That's... not the same thing. If Kyle is deadlifting 135lbs, he's doing 100 reps. The point was that someone had one second to show him weightlifting in a video and chose an unimpressive weight.

 

I was mostly just messing with you, but there's a nugget of truth that training and improving doesn't require the most impressive physical achievements all the time, so I don't really notice it in a hype video about his training. I think there might be two 45 plates on each side too, but I'm not much of a weight lifter so I'll take your word for it.

So what you're saying is you don't even lift, bro?