Schwarber's hot streak reaching historic levels
Former Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber went deep again Tuesday in his first at-bat for Washington against Tampa Bay.
It was Schwarber's 25th home run of the season and his 16th in June. This all happened suddenly, since Schwarber didn't hit his first home run this month until June 12.
According to mlb.com, Schwarber tied a major league mark with 12 home runs in 10 games, set by Albert Belle in '95; and tied another mark with 16 homers in 18 games, set by Sammy Sosa in '03 and Barry Bonds in '01.
Before Tuesday's game in Milwaukee, Cubs manager David Ross was asked if he's been paying attention to Schwarber's power streak.
"I have. I'm so happy for him," Ross said. "What the heck? The guy's going off. I've sent him a couple texts in the middle of all that. I'm super happy for him. That's good."
Obviously, there will be second-guessing after the Cubs declined to offer Schwarber a contract after he hit .188 with 11 home runs in last year's shortened season.
"I was just thinking until Schwarber got hot in the last month, he was kind of the same player he was for us, right?" Ross said. "Then he turned into this monster. Maybe we get that same guy last year if we get 162, right? That's the crazy thing about baseball. Who knows?"
According to baseball-reference.com, Schwarber signed a one-year, $7-million deal with the Nationals, with a mutual option for next season. So it's possible he'll be on the market again next winter. The Cubs signed Joc Pederson for $4.5 million.
While Schwarber has been stupid hot, he's used that theme as his approach at the plate.
"To be honest with you, I want to play stupid," Schwarber told reporters in Washington. "That's kind of the best way to describe it - just keep going up there and take your at-bat. Don't remember the one before, just live in the present."
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls