$79M Phillies star names Cardinals ballpark as his least favorite stadium

While the Philadelphia Phillies have been an average team this season, outfielder Kyle Schwarber recently named St. Louis as his least favorite ballpark to hit at. The 32-year-old is entering the final year of his four-year, $79 million contract with Philadelphia and remains one of their most potent bats in the lineup. While Schwarber has been around the major leagues for a decade now, he singles out the St. Louis Cardinals' Busch Stadium as his worst ballpark to play in.

Since starting his MLB career with the Chicago Cubs in 2015, Kyle Schwarber has grown into one of the best sluggers in the major leagues. He has made the All-Stars twice and won the World Series once. Through the course of his career, Schwarber's best season came in 2022 with the Phillies, when he won a Silver Slugger and finished as the NL home run leader.

Speaking on the Casa De Klub podcast earlier this week, Schwarber spoke about various topics and singled out his least favorite major league ball park:

(from 55:10)

"I know my least favorite, it's St. Louis by 100%. St. Louis is not very kind to me. I just feel like I've hit balls there that should be over the fence by 10 rows and it's not making the track."

"I got like ten of them like that and I'm like, oh man. And then it just dumps you up and then you look out there and you're like, where are my hits at, right? Especially when the great wall used to be out there in short right field... you're like, where am I going to hit this ball?"

The current Busch Stadium was built completed in 2006 and has been a tough ball park for many hitters. While its outfield wall is not the deepest, the dimensions make it tricky for many visiting teams. Hence, it is no surprise that Kyle Schwarber is not a fan, though he is swayed by personal experience as well.

Phillies president opens up on Kyle Schwarber extension talks

Kyle Schwarber is in the last year of his four-year, $79 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies and is set to become a free agent in 2026. Speaking on a possible contract extension with Schwarber, Phillies' president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, said (via theScore):

"We hope to keep him to be a Phillie for years to come... Not only because of the ability, but because of the other parts he brings to the club... The intangible aspect of it is off the charts."

While Dombrowski refused to disclose anything about contract negotiations, he assured fans that the front office wants to keep Schwarber in Philadelphia. The slugger is currently hitting .258/.436/.608 with 16 RBIs and 18 walks, and is tied for most homers in the NL with seven.