Former Indiana baseball star Kyle Schwarber is once again making history for the Hoosiers, 10 years since he last donned the cream and crimson. The Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter launched his 280th career home run against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday, eclipsing Ted Kluszewski’s record for most MLB home runs by a former Hoosier.
Schwarber represented Indiana from 2012-14, earning All-Big Ten first team honors in his sophomore and junior seasons. He ranks eighth all-time in hits with 238, sixth in slugging percentage with .607 and seventh in home runs with 40.
In the 2014 MLB draft, the Chicago Cubs selected Schwarber fourth overall, marking the highest drafted Indiana player in its history. Since 2015, he has played for the Cubs, Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies.
Schwarber’s home run breaks Kluszewski’s 63-year-old record dating back to 1961.
Kluszewski contributed one season for the Hoosiers in 1945, achieving a batting average of .443. In the same year, he was also a member of Indiana’s 1945 football squad that won the Big Ten conference championship.
Throughout his 15-year career, Kluszewski played 11 seasons for the Cincinnati Reds before joining the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels to finish out his final four seasons. He earned four MLB All-Star appearances from 1953-56.
As a coach of the Reds, Kluszewski won the World Series in 1975 and 1976. In 1998, 10 years after his death, the Reds retired No. 18 in his honor.
