Red Sox: Kyle Schwarber has been everything and more for Boston

Kyle Schwarber has been as good as advertised for the Red Sox

Just under a month removed from the Trade Deadline and Red Sox Nation is still giving Chaim Bloom plenty of grief over his activity, or lack thereof. While Boston’s CBO didn’t pillage the farm system for a flashy big name, he did bring in a power-hitting lefty who has been more than everything he was advertised to be. Since coming to Fenway Park, Kyle Schwarber has been an absolute machine, and yet, last night was his first homer with his new club.

I’m sure some of you are ready to give me a piece of your mind because Schwarber isn’t hitting tanks every single at-bat and that’s what he was supposed to do. Well, just because he did it for a short span at the beginning of the season doesn’t mean that who he is as a player every night.

You can’t deny that the big man has been absolutely killing it since coming to Boston. As much as I’d love to see him hitting balls over the bullpen every time he steps into the batter’s box, what he’s been doing has been just as good.

As a member of the Red Sox, Schwarbs is cracking an insane .379/.514/.586/1.100 with 11 hits, eight walks, seven whiffs, and that awesome homer from last night. Not only did the big lefty hit his first homer for Boston last night, he did it in front of a packed Fenway Park while also tying the game in the ninth.

They write movies about that kind of stuff and this man is out here living the story. After the game, he was asked about that moment and what it meant to him.

Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com:

"“That was definitely a really cool moment,” Schwarber said. “Fenway was rocking. I was, in the moment, very excited. Kind of took it in, just rounding the bases, just looking at the fans and everything like that. This is a great place to be.”"

I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to hit a homer in a Major League game, let alone your first one for your new team, while tying the game, in front of a rabid Fenway. It’s cool that for a guy who’s hit tons of homers in his career, and some pretty important ones at that, that he was still taken by the moment last night.

That’s the beauty of this game that some forget but never should. At its most pure, baseball is just a game you play with your buddies. It’s about the crack of the bat, the pop of the mitt, and having some damn fun, and that’s what Schwarber does best. Having been the heart and soul of the Cubs for most of his career, he now has a chance to be something special for another storied franchise. Even though the Sox couldn’t pull out the win after his homer last night, Schwarber still has all the confidence in the world in this team.

"“Obviously, the result wasn’t the result that we wanted,” he said. “I can tell you that this team, they want to go out there and keep putting W’s up there for these fans, this city and keep going.”"

I’d have to say my favorite thing about Scwarbs in Boston is the fact that he was brought here to hit bombs and instead of doing that he just goes and gets on base. I don’t think anyone was expecting him to have more walks and strikeouts at this point let alone more singles and doubles to homers. While in Washington he had more than twice as many swings and misses than he did free passes, so I’m thrilled that he has that number working in the positive for the time being.

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I’m a big Schwarber guy and I was stoked when Bloom brought him to the Red Sox. Obviously, it was a bit odd with him being on the IL but it didn’t take long for the slugger to make his way to Fenway Park. For now, it looks like he’ll be mostly working in the outfield and as the DH while he continues to learn first base. It was expected that he would make his debut at first tonight but with Hunter Renfroe being placed on bereavement leave, that debut will have to wait.

Even though he hadn’t hit a homer until last night, fans were left scratching their heads when he was left out of the series finale against the Yankees last week. Just having him in the lineup gives your team a boost as he has proven to be more than good enough to get the job done. Even if he wasn’t launching baseballs to the moon, his patience at the plate and penchant for getting on base makes him a serious weapon for Alex Cora. I think it’s safe to say that up to this point, Scharwber has been everything that he was supposed to be and maybe one of Bloom’s best moves to date.