He also founded Schwarber’s Hometown Heroes in 2017 as a way to honor first responders and his father, a former police chief; his sister, a Middletown police officer; and his mother, a dispatcher and nurse.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Vice Mayor West presented Schwarber with signs that will be placed at city entrances declaring Middletown the home of the baseball player.
West has also worked to renovate Goldman Park, home of Middie Way Baseball, as a member of the city’s park board and city council.
He announced the ballfield at Goldman Park will be named “Kyle Schwarber Ballfield.”
“I’m not one to want things like that, but hopefully you’re able to create those experiences for those kids that they can have fun, they can try new things ... you never know if you’re going to run into another Major League Baseball Player from Middletown,” Schwarber said.
As for his prospects as a free agent, Schwarber said, “We’ll see what happens. I’m never looking ahead. You just gotta take it day by day, see what happens.”
When asked if there was a possibility of him joining the Cincinnati Reds if the team showed interest, Schwarber said he didn’t know, but, “If that were to happen, I’m going to give my all just like I do any place I am.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
At the beginning of the event, Middletown Mayor Elizabeth Slamka presented Schwarber with a proclamation and key to the city. City Manager Ashley Combs, who also helped welcome Schwarber to the stage, said, “(Schwarber) reminds us that no matter how far you go, you can carry your community with you.”
Schwarber then sat down with Communications Manager Clayton Castle to talk about his baseball career, his family, why he has chosen to give back to the community and his time in Middletown’s Purple Pizzazz Show Choir, which he said helped him “step out” of his “comfort zone.”
Schwarber lives in the area during the off season and said his family is “starting to understand that Philadelphia is not home, that home is in Ohio. Home is in Middletown.”
“That’s why I want to come back here, and that’s why we want to invest in the community and we plan to keep investing in the community,” he said.
Schwarber being raised in the city taught him hard work and determination, which “doesn’t leave.”
“I’m going to be a dad, a father, a son, a husband, way more than I will be a baseball player,” he said.
The 2011 Middletown High School graduate signed a $79 million, four-year deal with the Phillies four years ago.
In Schwarber’s 10 Major League Baseball seasons, his teams have qualified for the playoffs nine times, including a 2016 World Series title with the Chicago Cubs, the team that drafted him in the first round out of Indiana University.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
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