FluxVlog

CLEVELAND — Walking back into Progressive Field after a very cold TV appearance before Game 1 of the World Series, I spotted three men in Kyle Schwarber jerseys.

I stopped two of them and it turned out, yes, they were related.

It was Kyle’s dad Greg Schwarber with a 16-month granddaughter Reese slung over his shoulder and Kyle’s uncle Mike, who played three years of minor league ball in the Cleveland Indians’ system. (He also spent a year traveling with the big league club throwing batting practice.)

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It was already a convenient World Series for the Schwarber family, who live in Middletown, Ohio (Mike lives in suburban Cleveland) and it turned to be completely heartwarming.

“I was totally surprised,” Greg Schwarber said. “I never would’ve believed in a million years that he could make it back here.”

In Game 1, Kyle Schwarber hit fifth and served as the team’s designated hitter in his first game back since tearing his ACL and LCL in his left knee on April 7 in Arizona. He struck out on a full-count fastball in his first at-bat and just missed a solo homer in his second, doubling with two outs in the fourth inning.

The baseball world was shocked Saturday when The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma reported the Cubs were seriously considering bringing back Schwarber for the World Series. Greg knew what was going on earlier in the week. 

“Well, when he left the doctors in Dallas on Monday, he called me,” Greg said. “He was on cloud nine. He said, ‘He released me!’ He said, ‘I’m going to start taking swings.’ I said, ‘What’s that mean?’ and he said ‘I’ll let you know when I get to LA.’”

Greg got another call later that evening and it was a good one.

“He said they were going to take a look at it the next day and we went from there,” he said.

Greg, a retired cop, is just as proud of how Kyle dealt with his injury as his comeback.

“I think he’s handled it in a classy way,” he said. “He’s worked hard, but he’s cheered hard too. He’s all about the team. All about team, not about individual.”

While Greg was surprised his son is playing in the World Series — Mike was shocked — he said it fits his character.

“He’s one of those kids, if he says he’s going to do it and you tell him he’s not going to he’ll use it as motivation to show you he can,” he said.

So Greg has to have a football story to illustrate how tough Kyle is, right?

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Absolutely. It was his junior year at Middletown High. Take it away, Greg.

“He was on the field and he got hit in the knee and dislocated his kneecap to the side,” Greg said. “And he got up and I could see him limping. The referee looked at him, blew his whistle and told him to get off the field. Kyle said, ‘No, I’m fine.’ He said get off the field and threw him off the field.

“I didn’t know what happened. A minute later my phone’s ringing and it’s a number I don’t recognize, but it’s the doctor’s phone. [Kyle is] calling me saying, ‘Tell that doctor I’m OK to go back in. I didn’t even know what happened. He subluxed his kneecap and [the doctor] said he needed to get a MRI before he ever played again. He was ready to go back in. “

How many games did he miss?

“I think he missed one,” Greg said.

Sounds about right.

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