Kyle Schwarber’s WILD journey to 2016 Cubs World Series roster, amazing Game 7 story | Ross & Rizzo

Summary

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The Lovable Reunion — Kyle Schwarber’s Wild Journey to the 2016 Cubs World Series Roster, Amazing Game 7 Story | Ross & Rizzo (April 21, 2026)

Podcast: The Lovable Reunion
Hosts: David Ross, Anthony Rizzo
Guest: Kyle Schwarber
Episode Synopsis:
On the 10th anniversary of the Chicago Cubs’ legendary 2016 World Series win, Anthony Rizzo and David Ross reunite with World Series hero Kyle Schwarber. The episode takes listeners inside the clubhouse and behind the scenes of Schwarber’s wild journey, from draft day anticipation to dabbling with misplays in left field, overcoming devastating injury, and ultimately his miraculous World Series comeback. The conversation is packed with untold stories, locker room ribbing, and lessons on resilience, leadership, and team culture.

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Main Theme & Episode Purpose

This episode explores the remarkable, improbable path Kyle Schwarber took to become a 2016 Cubs legend—highlighting both the adversity he faced and the emotional highs, all told from the vantage point of his then-teammates, Rizzo and Ross. Listeners gain candid, behind-the-scenes access to the relationships, vulnerabilities, and pivotal moments that defined the Cubs’ historic World Series run and Schwarber’s career.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reflecting on 10 Years Since 2016 (02:09 – 04:25)

• Schwarber, Rizzo, and Ross marvel at how fast time has passed and reminisce about their careers, friendships, and the unique “family” feel of reunions.
• Schwarber feels both grateful and incredulous: “No, I don’t believe it’s been 10 years. It’s wild. It’s been crazy, man.” (02:46, Schwarber)
• Jokes about Schwarber’s success and the changing roles with age and contract size.

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2. Draft-Day Dreams & Early Cubs Years (03:33 – 13:55)

• Schwarber reflects on being drafted in 2014 and rapidly becoming a legend in Rizzo’s hometown, Tallahassee.
• Talks about his college career at Indiana and his power as a hitter—“best power in the draft.”
• Early big league camp struggles, notably getting covered for by minor league coaches after oversleeping and missing morning workouts (06:05 – 07:47).
  • “My worst nightmare is being late.” (07:52, Schwarber)
• First MLB at-bat and the “bust” feeling from a three-pitch strikeout, quickly overridden by first hit—a triple.
  • “Punchy. Triple. … All my hits that year, so double A, triple A, and the big leagues … first hits at that level were triples.” (13:31, Schwarber)
• Recounts the thrill and pride of calling his blue-collar, first-responder parents with news of his MLB promotion.

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3. Clubhouse Culture, Honesty, and Learning Hard Lessons (17:17 – 22:27)

• Stories about messing up on defense, especially catching, and the frank, constructive feedback from Ross:
  • “Don’t ever let anyone know you’re defeated. … Even if you’re wrong.” (20:17, Ross)
  • Schwarber internalizes these lessons: “Even if I stink, no one’s going to know that I stink, because you can never let that guy know.” (21:37, Schwarber)
• Discuss the unique chemistry of the 2016 team, where everyone was accountable and approachable, blending youth and veteran leadership.

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4. Transition to the Outfield, Struggles, and Redemption (22:52 – 34:17)

• Schwarber details his rocky shift from catcher to outfield:
  • “I wanted to be a catcher. I just didn’t know how to be a catcher.” (24:32, Schwarber)
  • Tells of surprise communications (or lack thereof) in moving positions, and vivid memories of being thrown into left field during blowout games.
  • Memorable misplays and errors—especially double errors in the playoffs—balanced by triumphant moments like big throws to nail Adrian Gonzalez at the plate.
• The stigma of outfield errors and labels in the big leagues:
  • “When you get labeled in the big leagues … you can go 100 games in a row, and there’s one, and it’s like, ‘oh!’” (34:01, Ross)
• The importance of “knocking in more than you let in” (29:55, Rizzo)—team keeps it light even when struggling.

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5. The Heart of the 2016 Team: Resilience, Camaraderie, and Leadership (34:17 – 47:54)

• Discuss how team analytics, coaching under Joe Maddon, and willingness to accept feedback shaped all of them into better players and leaders.
• Schwarber opens up about always wanting to “go through the high five line” after a win—playing nine innings, making an impact.
• Leadership lessons: Rizzo, Ross, Lackey, Lester, and others are credited for teaching Schwarber how to lift up teammates, pass on knowledge, and invest in “the next generation,” including little rituals like picking up dinner tabs as an act of mentorship.

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6. 2015 Postseason Coming-Out Party (48:00 – 61:28)

• The Cubs’ breakthrough as a wild card team; Schwarber’s postseason power surge.
• Schwarber’s iconic home runs—including the river shot in Pittsburgh and the “Schwarbomb” onto the Wrigley scoreboard:
  • “That was like, bro … it’s hard to really point, but I think that’s probably like my top one.” (54:03, Schwarber, on the Allegheny blast)
• The energy of the playoff crowds—“I don’t think you guys realize how loud this place gets.” (54:12, Schwarber)
• Reflections on losing to the Mets’ dominant pitching, and the fire it lit under the team for 2016.

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7. 2016: Injury, Obscurity, and a Miraculous Return (62:06 – 83:03)

• Early 2016, Schwarber shatters his ACL/LCL just three games in:
  • “I’m gonna miss out on the most unbelievable run. … That’s the first thing I said.” (65:05, Schwarber)
• The emotional toll and his determination to still be “around the guys,” rehabbing at Wrigley instead of Arizona.
• Insider look at the extraordinary effort behind his World Series comeback:
  • Hours of tracking balls, hack machines set to “fuzzy,” and facing skepticism about ever being able to return, especially as the rumors started late in the playoff run.
  • “There was hope in my head … but probably not a good chance.” (72:11, Schwarber, on being activated)
  • The call from Theo Epstein: “Congratulations, we’re putting you on the roster. You’re batting fifth tomorrow against Corey Kluber.” (72:41)
• Schwarber’s candid gratitude for being part of the run—“Thank goodness I was with you guys … if I was just in Arizona rotten away, there’s no chance in hell.” (73:09)

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8. World Series Game 7: The Iconic Moments (79:02 – 84:26)

• Schwarber’s perspective on the dramatic rain-delay speech and that famed 10th inning:
  • “All I’m thinking about [after the rain delay] is, ‘How the fuck can I get on base right now?’” (79:40, Schwarber)
  • Ross and Rizzo recall Schwarber’s steely focus as he led off the decisive inning, driving a crucial single.
    • “I go, I got it. [Ross:] You better got it.” (80:33, exchange)
  • On Al Almora’s legendary baserunning: “That’s the most underrated tag play. … if that was me running in that time … I’m past, I’m on second base or past it.” (81:44, Schwarber)
  • Schwarber’s pride in his .412 World Series average—“With a broken leg!” (77:19, Ross)

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9. Aftermath, Growth, and Personal Evolution (89:25 – 98:23)

• Updated on Schwarber’s career since: consistent power, healthy seasons, leadership in Philly, and inching toward milestones (“You’re on your way to being a Hall of Fame baseball player,” 99:23, Ross).
• The psychological grind of Wrigley’s wind, shifts, and hitting struggles. (92:02)
• Emphasizes the importance of adversity—being sent down in 2017, DFA’d by the Cubs, and growing through “hard pills to swallow”:
  • “At the end of the day, it was the best thing to happen in my career.” (94:07, Schwarber)

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10. Lasting Legacy & Brotherhood (97:07 – End)

• Profound gratitude: Schwarber credits his development to the clubhouse culture and to Ross, Rizzo, and the 2016 team.
• “What you do and your reputation in the game, you’re blue collar. … You’re a Kyle Schwarber baseball player.” (99:39, Ross)
• The brotherhood, the memories, and how every role mattered in making history:
  • “We’re not sitting here 10 years later telling this story without every single one in our organization, without you rehabbing the way you did.” (102:08, Ross)
  • “That is Kyle Schwarber, people. That is a wrap.” (102:14, Rizzo)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (Bold = Speaker, [timestamp])

• Kyle Schwarber [02:46]: “No, I don’t believe it’s been 10 years. It’s wild. It’s been crazy, man.”
• Anthony Rizzo [03:28]: “You’re a lot richer now than you used to be.”
  Schwarber: “That’s for sure.”
• Kyle Schwarber [13:55]: “All my first hits at [each] level were triples.”
• David Ross [20:17]: “Don’t ever let anyone know you’re defeated. … Even if you’re wrong.”
• Kyle Schwarber [21:37]: “Even if I stink, no one’s going to know that I stink … you can never let that guy know.”
• Anthony Rizzo [29:55]: “Knock in more than you let in.”
• Kyle Schwarber [54:03]: “[The river home run in Pittsburgh is] probably like my top one.”
• David Ross [65:05]: “We literally, like, we manifested [a World Series run].”
• Kyle Schwarber [72:41]: “Congratulations, we’re putting you on a roster. You’re batting fifth tomorrow against Corey Kluber.”
• Kyle Schwarber [77:19]: “20 at-bats, a .412 average, seven hits, a double, two RBIs, and one stolen base—with a broken leg.”
• David Ross [99:23]: “You’re on your way to being a Hall of Fame baseball player. Which is insane.”
• Kyle Schwarber [100:04]: “Philly can be rugged, right? … You can tell me I stink, but I’m going to be the first one to tell you I stink. You’re not telling me anything I don’t know, right?”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction / 10 Years Later Reflections: 02:09–04:25
• Draft, Minor Leagues, and MLB Debut Stories: 03:33–13:55
• Lessons from Ross & Clubhouse Camaraderie: 17:17–22:27
• Catching to Outfield Transition & Defensive Challenges: 22:52–34:17
• Leadership, Passing the Torch, and 2016 Vibes: 34:17–47:54
• 2015 Wild Card, Playoff Home Runs, 'Schwarbomb': 48:00–61:28
• 2016 Injury, Rehab, World Series Comeback: 62:06–83:03
• Game 7, Rain Delay, Decisive 10th Inning: 79:02–84:26
• Schwarber’s Career Since 2016, Legacy: 89:25–98:23
• Brotherhood, Gratitude, Episode Wrap: 97:07–End (102:14)

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Tone and Style

Conversational, irreverent, and heartfelt. The trio blend sharp locker-room humor, real talk, and emotional vulnerability. They rib each other about money and errors, but always anchor to respect, gratitude, and the weight of their shared experiences on a drought-breaking team.

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Final Takeaway

This episode is a masterclass in sports storytelling—balancing the lightness of blooper reels and inside jokes with the gravity of personal and collective adversity. For those who lived the 2016 Cubs run or have only heard the headlines, Schwarber, Ross, and Rizzo offer a rich, moving portrait of what it took to break the curse and the legacy it built, one that continues to shape their lives and their bond a decade later.

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Transcript

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[Kyle Schwarber]

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[Kyle Schwarber]

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[Alex English]

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[Kyle Schwarber]

Drew Pinky has financial issues on the

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[David Ross]

David Ross, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwerber. Welcome back to another episode of Love Wool Reunion. David Ross and I, with a very special guest, Kyle Schwaber, World Series Hero 2016. Schwaber, welcome to the show.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Thanks for the great introduction.

[David Ross]

Yeah, I mean, I can go on and on about your accolades, but what you did in 2016 was incredible. We'll get to that. But to see you developing your career over the last 10 years is insane. Can you believe it's been 10 years?

[Kyle Schwarber]

No, no, not at all. I mean, you can look at my hair like you already said I did. I. I'm graying. But no, it's been. I mean, thinking about how even just the reunion, when we all got and everyone's there and we're all having conversations, it felt like it was yesterday. I thought that was the cool thing, right? But I think that just the way it's been going in my career and I've just been lucky, blessed, whatever it is, that I have that opportunity to keep playing and trying to play at a high level. But no, I don't believe it's been 10 years. It's wild. It's been crazy, man.

[Anthony Rizzo]

You're a lot richer now than you used to be.

[Kyle Schwarber]

That's for sure.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Somebody else is buying dinners.

[David Ross]

I remember you getting drafted out of Indiana, and they're, like, taking this. He's there. Like, I remember Theo talking about it's the best power in the draft. What was it?

[Kyle Schwarber]

13, 2000? We had 2014 draft.

[David Ross]

14 draft.

[Anthony Rizzo]

You're a legend in my hometown. With Tallahassee, Florida, winning there. I think you hit, like, four home runs in the regional.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I hit. I hit a far one there.

[David Ross]

Hoosiers a national champs.

[Anthony Rizzo]

That was a good year for you.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It was a great. Yeah. This past year, the off season. Wow. Great off season. I'll tell you what. You know, contract, baby. Hoosiers reunion. Team usa.

[David Ross]

Damn, you're awesome. I mean, I was. I was thinking about this while I was just going over some stuff before the interview, and I was like, dude, this could be literally your whole year like this. You could roll this right into championship and then another World Series.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I would love that. You guys got the juice there in Philly. Nothing better. Nothing better to do that, like. And we got that team, you know, we just. For us in Philly, where we even. We just locked up Lizardo.

[David Ross]

That was a huge Stone Douglas alumni. Jesus.

[Kyle Schwarber]

You know, we got some. Some young guys coming up, too, which I think could be really exciting. Crawford Painter's going to be coming up.

[David Ross]

Painter. Dude, I faced painter in 2020 when he was in high school still, like,

[Kyle Schwarber]

when we were just doing, like, lives.

[David Ross]

The guy punched my ticket, like, six different times, bro. And I'm like, who the. His off speed wasn't that good. And I was like, are we allowed

[Kyle Schwarber]

to cuss on this thing?

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah, do whatever we want.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Okay, good.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Do whatever we want.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Good.

[Anthony Rizzo]

I say, with all due respect.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, but.

[David Ross]

Yeah, he's nasty, bro. But I. Bro. Let's go to 15. When our first spring trained together, you were a catcher, right? Didn't break the big leagues. First big league camp.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yep.

[David Ross]

And you two probably got closer, quicker than. Than we had.

[Anthony Rizzo]

We got to hang out a lot and catching. And obviously, you know, the bat is. Speaks for itself and the power, but he was grinding and catching early on. We were grinding. We had me, you, Miggy.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Welly, welly, man. Who else? I think, like Taylor Teagarden. Yeah.

[Anthony Rizzo]

We had a bunch of guys in spring training.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Rafi Lopez was in there, too.

[David Ross]

Oh, yeah.

[Anthony Rizzo]

We had a good. We had a good catching core.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. It was like. I don't even know if you guys have this story, but I don't even think, you know, we need it to this day. So first big league camp, I'm staying at the team hotel that's, you know, that's right behind the complex.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And, you know, catchers are there first thing in the morning. We work out. You know, you'd be working out in the morning, too, when the catchers were there. We work out. Then we go early work, and it's still.

[David Ross]

That was when Bors. He was, like, drilling you guys and

[Kyle Schwarber]

blocking drills and the season, you know, or the sun hasn't come up.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So, you know, and it's like week two, and I, you know, I'm. Yes, sir, Mr. Sir. Whatever you guys need.

[David Ross]

Sirs. Right?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like, that's what I'm like. Yeah, like this. So I go to sleep, alarms are set, everything. I wake up and the sun's out.

[David Ross]

No.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I go, what the just happened? And I'm panicking, and I go to touch my phone, and it's dead. This. The plug came out of the wall.

[David Ross]

Oh, my God.

[Anthony Rizzo]

I didn't know.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And. Oh, yeah, I don't want you to know. I did not want him to know or Miggy to know.

[Anthony Rizzo]

So we were locker mates, too.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. So I get my phone just charged, turns on. I got text from Borzi from Cuz, you know, who was our minor league catcher guy going, where are you? Where are you? Blah, blah. And I. So I call them right away. They pick up. I'm like, thank goodness, because it's almost time for bullpens. And they go, hey, we covered for you. We told, you know, Rossi, Miggy and these guys are asking where you were. They said you got a sore shoulder. You went and saw the dock you went and saw the doc, and you gotta. Gotta take it a little easy for today. But think about.

[David Ross]

Think about how different psychologically your career could have been if you would have found out, dude.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And, like, that's. We've ridden that one for a while. I mean, that's like, my worst nightmare is being late. Yeah, being late, dude.

[David Ross]

You ever have dreams of, like, you're late for your first at bat?

[Kyle Schwarber]

I had dreams of being. After we won the World Series, I had dreams that I was, like, running up the concourse and going to our locker room for some reason, and I don't have my cleats on. I'm like, I can't find my cleats. Can't find my cleats. Get my cleats finally on. They got lesser. And Lackey eating chicken right there, looking at me like, what the hell are you doing? And then I run all the way back down, and then I. Like, the first thing I see is the Cleveland scoreboard, and Wilson Contreras's face is on the scoreboard, and he's hitting behind me. And I turn left, and Joe's right there. Just give me the handshake. Hey, you're done.

[David Ross]

You ever have those?

[Anthony Rizzo]

No.

[David Ross]

You weren't good enough.

[Anthony Rizzo]

I was happy. If they didn't give me my bat, I don't want to punch out. Speaking of Cleveland, where we ended up winning, you.

[Kyle Schwarber]

That was.

[Anthony Rizzo]

That was your debut getting called up.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So that was Taco. Yeah, first start. So actually, debut was in Wrigley.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Oh, that's right.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Because Miggy got thrown out in the eighth.

[David Ross]

That's right.

[Kyle Schwarber]

The first start was in Biggie. Got thrown out in the eighth. So I get caught up. So I'm in Double A and got called up from Double A because Javi broke his thumb.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Or I knew somebody went down.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, Javi broke his thumb. And they were doing. They were like, saying that, hey, they're gonna call someone up for interleague play, whatever it is. And I get a random call from my agent. This is, like, right when Javi broke his thumb. They're going. He's like, hey, don't you. Javi got hurt. They might think about calling you up. So this. Don't be shocked, but I was like, huh? Okay. Like, whatever. Couple days pass and think about it, and I'm in aa and I think we're playing Jacksonville. And Buddy Bailey. Buddy Bailey. Buddy Bailey. He called. Hey, Grizz. He called me Grizz because he couldn't say Schwarber. So. Hey, Grizz, come. Come in my office. So go in and it's like, him, J. Mac, you know, some other front office, and like Desi Wilson, who's our hitting coach. And they tell me I'm going to call the big leagues. And they. I'm, you know, get goosebumps still thinking about it. But they were like, hey, this is the plan. We got five days interleague. You're going to come up, you're going to start the five games in early, but you're going to go to Chicago, watch the game, and then you'll start. We go to Cleveland the next day. So, you know, I show up to Wrigley and, you know, all juiced up, ready to sit. You know, catchers report sitting like this, reading them, you know, looking at. Looking at Rossi and, you know, trying to figure out what the catchers are doing. I think Miggy's catching that game and he's explaining some things to me. And then, like, it's. I always tell the story, too. So it's like the sixth inning and I'm just like, well, like, someone goes, hey, let's go take some swings. This is what happens, right? Like, guys might get loose for a pinch hit, whatever it is. So, you know, obviously, the old. The old Wrigley, where the bullpens were on the side of the fields and the cages were out where the bullpens are now. So there's a. There's the flip net that you drop down in the cage. In the locker room? Yeah, in the locker room. So, flip net. You put the piece of plywood down over the tv and, you know, I start putting balls on t's, start hitting. Here comes Manny Ramirez.

[David Ross]

No way.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Flipping me some boss, some side flips. Manny, I think, was like the AAA and like, just doing what he wanted

[David Ross]

to do, getting ready, down, like, coach out.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And he'd come up to the big leagues, help some dudes out, and I'm like, this is awesome.

[David Ross]

I'm in the big leagues. I got Manny Ramirez flipping me baseballs, like, that's cool.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And you know, to sit down there. Then I think Cleveland was kicking the out of us, and Miggy got thrown out in the eighth inning. And they go, hey, you're getting a bat. I'm like, oh, yeah, you know, get up there, you know, great first of bat. Mark Sinchimski, left handed specialist, sinker, slider. Yeah. I'm like, I just remember there was, you know, people started leaving, but then the people that were still there, they get up on their feet. I'm like, oh, I'M all right. Calm down. Deep breath. I'm gonna take the first pitch. C1. Right down the. Right down it. Right down the middle. Right sinker. I'm like, all right, get ready. Thought it was a heater. That's a slider in the other batter spot. Strike two. And then I'm like, all right, come on, get. Bring him a little bit closer. He goes. Back door sacred. Strike three. You're gonna sit the down.

[David Ross]

Three pitches.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm like, oh, I stink. I'm a bust.

[David Ross]

I'm a bust.

[Alex English]

I'm a bust.

[David Ross]

Three pitches.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm a bust. I stink.

[David Ross]

Three pitches.

[Kyle Schwarber]

But, you know, luckily, then we go to Cleveland, next day, get the start at dh, and that was number one. Yeah. Got number one. Sean Markham. Never forget. It was the best part about it, too, was the boys. The good story for the people. First hit was a triple in the big leagues.

[David Ross]

Yours? Yeah, same.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, bro.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Mine was the first punch out, too. So we can relate to it.

[David Ross]

My first. If I was a punch out, second at bat. Triple.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. So punchy. Triple. And it definitely. I hope that they can't challenge. I don't think they can challenge anymore. That long ago, but definitely. Probably should have been air. It went right through the. Right through the legs of Santana at first base. And triple. You know, excited. Fun fact. All my hits that year, so double A, triple A and the big leagues. All my first hits at that level were triples.

[David Ross]

Damn.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Wow. And I don't know how I remember that because I don't hit. Probably because I don't hit a lot of triples, but, you know, fat guy and a little coat.

[David Ross]

How about when you get. When they're in the office in AA and you call your parents? How cool is that?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Because.

[David Ross]

Just quick backstory. I'll. I'll plug it. Kyle's parents come from all police officers, right?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. So my dad, police officer. Mom was sister. Sister was in military police officer where my dad worked at. Now mom was dispatched.

[David Ross]

Growing up has an amazing foundation, Schwarber's Neighborhood Heroes. That goes back to first responders. But what was it like calling them and giving them that news?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Oh, it was. It's like, that's the dream that you think of, right? Like, you know, one you dream of getting the news, but then now you can get that to call your parents and be like, hey, guys, get your flights to Chicago. I'm going to the big leagues. And. Yeah.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Like, nobody can ever take that away.

[Kyle Schwarber]

No, man. Like, it doesn't matter. You know, it's. And everyone's got. Everyone's got their own story, right? But it's just a special. That person. But so mom, dad, come up. My sisters come up. My s. One of my sisters just had their daughter and like newborn, like two weeks really, and came to Chicago. They drove the Cleveland, then they drove to Minnesota, followed us for the. The whole road trip. But yeah, it was. I mean, just having that call. Right, because obviously, yeah, like, my parents put in a lot of work. Like my dad, first responder, he was a police officer, 40 plus years. He retired when I graduated high school. My mom, so she was a dispatcher and then she went to. She was RN working at hospitals. She went back to college when we were in school, like in middle school, you know, grinding out, still working a job, going back to school, trying to get her degree. Gets her degree so that she can take the next step in her. Where she wants to go. She gets that done. You know, pretty much. For me and my sister Lindsey, you know, my. My older two sisters were on their way on their feet. But, you know, my sister Lindsey, who was in the National Guard and now a police officer, she was big in the horses growing up. And my mom, you know, mom dad gave us every opportunity that we could the follow the dream and, you know, going to all these horse shows growing up, going to all the travel baseball games, not like, you know, the crazy ones now, but like just going to Indiana, going, you know, the big trip, going to Florida or going to Cooperstown, like, you know, imagining how much of that could be a stressor. But they just gave us every opportunity that we could to go out there and follow it. And yeah, I got that. Got the dream, got the chance, got drafted and to give them that call. It was, yeah, goosebumps.

[Anthony Rizzo]

They had a. We were telling a story the other day on the bus when you were catching and came into that game late. You got to share that story. We had such a relationship, and obviously the whole guy on the team, he's always like, you know, he's. What do you got? What do you got? What do you got? Catching wise. So you got to tell that story.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So we're playing San Francisco. Hold on, I'll drink. Yeah, we're playing San Francisco. This is a great. And it's a story I always tell because it, you know, and I'm sure that there's plenty of background on Rossi, but, like, the things that he meant to us as the players, the younger guys, and even, you know, the. The veteran at the time, too, like, you were able to talk to Ross. And he would give it to you straight, which that's what you needed, you know, from a player. Because some, you know, coming from a player means a lot from that. From more than the coach sometimes. Right.

[David Ross]

Takes a while for a coach to build up that.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, exactly.

[David Ross]

True relationship.

[Anthony Rizzo]

And you respect your peers so much.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Exactly. And, you know, your. Your track record was phenomenal. And so you know, me, young catcher Kyle. We're playing San Francisco. Buster Posey has the day off, and here comes Brandon Crawford to the plate. And Tommy Hunter's in the game. And it's a three run ball game, I think in the sixth or seventh there.

[David Ross]

At Wrigley.

[Kyle Schwarber]

At Wrigley.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Okay.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And I, I remember this day. The report was spin it. When in doubt, spin it. When in doubt, spin it. You know, I called a couple curveballs. He ball spiked, one heater strike. Curveball ball, you know, like, like, score. But I'm like, well, like, we. And I can't call breaking ball. He doesn't have the breaking balls. And Tommy throws 99.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

You know, strike two. Three, two. So I'm like on a foul ball and I'm like, well, like, I'm not going to take another chance with walking this guy because Buster Posey's got the day off. I don't, you know, there's some. There's. I forget who was hit behind him. He could definitely pinch hit here. I'm like, we just got to take our chances. Call the heater. Backside homer, you know, I go. My first response was, oh, no, no, no, no, no. Then homer. And I go, you know, like, drop the head. And we get out of the inning. And, you know, I got Boz, you know, he's.

[David Ross]

What did we say?

[Kyle Schwarber]

When in doubt? Spinning. I'm like, I know. You know, and so then Rossi, I start taking my stuff off, and Rossi just sees me defeated. He's like, you know, in his Rossi way of letting you know, you know, hey. He goes, there's eight guys out there looking at you.

[David Ross]

Eight.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Eight of them.

[David Ross]

Yep.

[Kyle Schwarber]

They're all looking at you.

[David Ross]

No one else is looking at you. You're looking at everyone else, and they

[Kyle Schwarber]

can see how you're acting.

[David Ross]

Wow.

[Kyle Schwarber]

They go. He's like, don't ever let anyone know you're defeated. Don't ever let them know. He goes, even if you're wrong. I'm like, good point.

[Anthony Rizzo]

He was like, got you. It was like, well, all you guys did that. That's that special group that we had. I feel like in my salty way and, and given that you guys, the character of our group that year, everybody took my negativity or my honesty and.

[David Ross]

And he walked away feeling better after. He just, like, would just lay into you, and then somehow you feel good about it, and you literally just got taken to school.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It's the. Well, the thing is. It's the truth. Yeah, right.

[David Ross]

Like, it's the truth in a. In a. In a loving way.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Correct? It's not. No, it's not like the. The I'm gonna, You know, you say you just screwed up, and I'm just gonna let you know you screwed up. Just to let you know you screwed up.

[David Ross]

Yeah. No, right.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like, dude, I think about. I tell everyone this day, like, that's one of the biggest. There's a lot of different lessons I learned from being with you guys in my, you know, young years coming up. I always say, like, I'm so lucky with the group that I got to come up with, because that's how I want to treat people. But, you know, having people being honest and being able to tell you that, you know, hey, you might have. You might have up, but, yeah, you know, you got to be better for it.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Right?

[Kyle Schwarber]

And you can't let people know. Like, that's always one thing I always say to people. I am like, that's like that story you tell me. I use it in a hitting way now. Right. Like, of course I'm never gonna let the. You know, even if I stink, no one's going to know that I stink because you can never let that guy know. Can't let that guy know. I can't let my manager know. I can't let anyone know because either that's. There's blood in the water, he's coming after you, or it's giving someone an excuse to give you a day off. Right? Like, I don't want that. Like, I want to grind. I want to keep playing. And I want. And I know, in the greatest words of Reece Hoskins, there's always a chance when you get to the box. There's always a chance when just make it to the box. There's always a chance. So, like, it's always stuck with me. It's a great story. Like, and I love it.

[Anthony Rizzo]

It's the. It's that you were. You wanted energy, you wanted feedback. You wanted. Like, you wanted. I'm trying to get better. What do you got? That was your thing all the time. What do you got? What do you got? Yeah, and that's good. Talking about, I think we were discussing earlier, like, what Was that, like, when you had to give up catching because you were passionate about catching? And. And that's a. That's a big deal, right? And you had been a catcher your whole life.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Looking, in retrospect, it was a great idea giving it up. But. But yeah, like, I. The biggest thing coming out of Indiana was, am I going to be a catcher or am I just going to be a hitter that displays a position?

[David Ross]

Well, I remember you getting out of Indiana, like, left handed power, not sure if he can catch. I'm like, oh, fuck. Like this dude's gonna play first base. You know what I mean?

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm like, he's coming to take my spot.

[David Ross]

I feel like I had a solidified job. And I'm like, all right.

[Anthony Rizzo]

No, but you had a cannon for an arm. I thought you always had a good arm.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, it was just like, I never knew how to catch, right? Like, I was. The reason I got thrown back at catcher is because I have adhd. Like, I was the kid out in the outfield picking grass, you know, playing in the dirt, right? My mom and dad are like, we gotta put him somewhere where he pays attention.

[David Ross]

But, yeah, I was always the right fielder.

[Kyle Schwarber]

But so, yeah, like, you know, I wanted to be a catcher. I just didn't know how to be a catcher. And I was telling everyone I was gonna draft. I'm like, I just need. I want instruction, right? Like, and it's not even a shot at, like, college. It's just like, you know, the big leagues, it's like there's great instruction and everyone doesn't do it the same way, right? Like, I think, you know, there's another story that I can get to, but that relates to hitting, but I just didn't know how to. And like, I knew I was rough. I wasn't. I was dumb, right? Like, I was passionate about catching because that's what I did. That's the position I played as a kid, and that's what I wanted to do in the big leagues.

[Anthony Rizzo]

And you're a worker. Like, you wanted to be great at whatever you did.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. You know my grandma, right? Like, she always would be, like, you know, rest her soul. You know, like, Johnny Bench. Like, we always talked about Johnny Bench. You know, she grew up watching the Reds. She's like, I want you to be the next Johnny Bench. Wow. And, you know, like, it stuck with me and I'm like, that's what I want to do. And so, yeah, like, rough around the edges for sure, to say the least.

[Anthony Rizzo]

But who called you to Tell you they wanted you to get ready for the outfield.

[Kyle Schwarber]

No one that was communication.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Just showed up in spring training.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It wasn't spring training.

[David Ross]

It wasn't.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So I get drafted 14. They go, hey, you caught a lot of innings, whatever it is, you know, they were kind of putting in the works when I got drafted. Like, hey, you're going to play left field twice a week, catch twice a week, and DH the other three or whatever it is. And I'm like, okay, fine. So go to Boise. Played five games, played outfield, caught to DH2. Gone to King county, had Mark MJ Mark Johnson. He was our catcher's manager. Big league catcher. Excuse me, but got around him, and he's like, hey, we got to catch this guy more. And so besides doing that whole rotation, like, I was catching now, and I caught for, like, pretty much two and a half, three weeks there. Played, like, a couple games in left field, then went to Daytona, got called up, finished a year there in 14. They're like, hey, you're catching once a week. Like, fine, so get the 15. Now. They're like, hey, you're strictly a catcher. Like, it's either you're catching, and if there's DH games and you know it's not your day to catch, you're going to Dharma. Perfect. So called to the big leagues, whatever. Miggy gets hurt, recalled. I'm catching, and in the big leagues, I'm 15. So it's great. Yeah, we got. So the rotation was John, Jake, Kyle Hamill, and it would be like, a mix of, like, Clayton, Richard, Woody. Woody. Like, Woody would spot start, too. So Rossi's catching Lester, obviously, and Jake's starting to go on the run there in that second half. And they're pretty much. They're like, he's got too good a shit for you to catch. So, like, you're gonna catch Kyle. You're gonna catch Kyle Hendricks, you're gonna catch Jason Hamill, and you're gonna catch Clayton. And I'm like, okay, perfect, right? So I'm raking, you know, having those two days off. And so then Miggy's about to come back, and Davey goes, hey, you can play it outfield, right? I'm like, yeah, I played outfield a little bit. He goes, all right, Just. He goes, come out with me, you know, tomorrow, and we'll do some fly balls, and we'll do some footwork stuff. So I go out there the next day, you know, footwork, take some fly balls, and I'm pretty sure I was catching this game. And Someone was beating the brakes off us, and they put me out in left field from catching, and I think you were pitching on my first fly ball out. Oh, I think you. I think you might have had the pitch. So there was a pitch. I'm pretty sure it was Rossi, if I remember, and get first fly ball.

[David Ross]

That was the game you pitched and

[Anthony Rizzo]

then hit a home run. Hit the home run? I think so.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. I'm pretty positive. Yeah, it was probably the Phillies because they were beating the brakes off us. I remember.

[David Ross]

But we got no hit that year.

[Kyle Schwarber]

By then, is it Cole Hamill's no hitter? But. So, yeah, then I think I caught one more. And then it was Lester's turn and they activated Miggy and they kept me on the roster, I guess. Supposedly, Davey always was like. He was like, yeah, they were thinking about pretty much just sending you back to aaa. But he's like, you know, you're hitting, see if you can play left field, bro.

[David Ross]

You raked your first year. You hit like 15, 18 bombs, something like that.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like 15 or 16, but so, you know, out in left field. Next game is John Lester's game against the Rockies. Not there yet. Not there yet. We're not there.

[David Ross]

Kyle and John fucking yet.

[Kyle Schwarber]

But. So he's in the. I'm chilling out there. Haven't had a fly ball the whole game. Chilling. He's in the. I think he's in the eighth, and it's like two outs, guy on second base, one nothing. Ball game. We're winning. And I think it was Charlie Blackman or someone's up. And he just hits me the sky high fly ball. And I'm shitting my pants out there. Come on. You know, two hand catch, like, bang.

[David Ross]

I'm like, yes, yes.

[Kyle Schwarber]

In my head I'm going, yes. But outside, you know, keep stone face. But I'm like, okay. Like, I can do this. But yeah, like, that's where it started. But obviously it was a journey, you know, it was not ever going to be pretty. I thought I'd be the first one to tell you that. Like, I'll tell you, I'll go try hard. I'm going to keep trying to learn the best I can and keep trying to make the adjustments that I need to make. But, you know, if I see a ball that I think I could get to or what, you know, I might die for it. Might not look pretty. I might drop one.

[David Ross]

We've seen it.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Oh, yeah. We should see a good album. We've seen a good album.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Hey, what's the saying? Knock in more than you let in.

[Kyle Schwarber]

That's right. Hey, that was the best saying this. Drive in more than you let in. So every time I screw one up out there, someone would go, hey, drive one, you know, drive two. And now, drive in two now. So knock in two. I'm locked in. I'm locked in up at their plate. But yeah, it was, it was interesting, you know, and it's not the. I mean, I think that's probably the two hardest places to play outfield is in Wrigley and in San Francisco. I think those are the two hardest places to catch fly balls, period. This with how the wind is always. Oh, yeah, messing with the ball, you know. Heck, I know that we, we've been hinting at it, but, like, you know, I remember a ball and John was pitching like, Christian Yelich hammers a ball. I mean, had to be like 110 off the bat, but the wind's howling and it's in April. I go sprinting back and all reality I had to do, all I had to do was just stand where I was. I go sprinting back, you know, then I find the ball again. I slam the brakes on.

[David Ross]

Is that why you, like, zoot it like three different times?

[Kyle Schwarber]

There's been like a couple of times I've done that, you know, I've got it. I got a double air under my belt. In the playoffs.

[David Ross]

In the playoffs.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I got a double air. That was with Quintana pitching, Daniel Murphy, line ball, clanked it. And then going to pick it up.

[David Ross]

The Nationals.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, going, going to pick it up. I kicked it.

[David Ross]

Oh, yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Field goal was good.

[David Ross]

Yes, yes, I remember that.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And triple. And they took Q out, kicked it. Field goal good. They took Q out and next guy singles and it was like a one. It was a runner in game. I'm like, let's feel the worst. And then, you know, I, I like, this was something that always stood out to me, too. And like, it's later on that game I get pinch hit for. Albert came in and pinch hit for me.

[David Ross]

Who's your boy?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, he was my boy. And it's Sammy Solis pitching and it's a big spot in the game, like running on second base. And I mean, I'm just like pouring my heart and soul into him to, like, will him to get a hit somehow, right? Just to will this guy to get a hit and, you know, gets the hit, you know, going nuts, you know, like, then we go on to win the game in the playoffs and like, just think, like, being able to sit back. And look at that through the lens now. It's like. It was a really good lesson for me because. And it stemmed from you guys. But winning at the end of the day was way more important. Sure. Than all the. The personal aspects of that. Right. Like that it absolutely sucked that I made a double error. Hell yeah. It caused Q. Caused Q a lot. A win and a playoff game. Does it suck to get pinch hit for? Absolutely stinks to get pinch hit for.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah, I know that feeling.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Right. We got a coach with the Phillies. His greatest line is my name in the big leagues. Was now batting four Andy. He goes four abad. That was his name.

[Anthony Rizzo]

But you're not giving yourself a lot of credit from. You're right. You had your trials and we need to talk about that. But I remember one of the more accurate outfield throwers I've ever played with, and you made a really big. You throw Adrian Gonzalez in a playoff game, ball to the left and a big close game.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. I mean, that was the Dodgers. I had the throw.

[Anthony Rizzo]

You had the arm.

[David Ross]

He had the glimpses.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, I had some glimpses.

[David Ross]

I thought you were. I always said Schwarz is not bad out there. It's just there's a couple plays that when they happen with you, you got labeled.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Right.

[David Ross]

And when you get labeled in the big leagues or anywhere, it's literally so every single, like, play, he. You can go 100 games in a row and there's one and it's like, oh, and then they play a couple more that, like, in the past. So it's like, I always just felt like you had labeled as like, making a bonehead play. And I was like, that's fucking bullshit because you made so many good plays.

[Kyle Schwarber]

There's, there's, you know, obviously, like, analytics in the game is huge now. And it's. And we were kind of on the big first waves of it with, you know, where we were going. You know, obviously Joe was, you know, loved Joe and. But, you know, he kind of brought in a little bit more analytical side to things here in Chicago and trying to, like, get, you know, being a young guy and getting labeled okay. Right. Like, I know I'm not a left fielder, but I'm trying as hard as I can.

[David Ross]

Sure.

[Kyle Schwarber]

To go out there and get the job done. Right. And, like, the pride of it, the pride of the player is I don't want to be taken out. I want to go through the high five line.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Right.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like, I want to go through that high five line. Yeah. Right. Like that. That's the that's like the. The goal. You know, you. You want to play all nine. You want to feel like that you did something to help the team that day. And it doesn't always have to be at the plate. It can be on any different aspect. You know, it can be baserunning, could be defense. It could be in the clubhouse, whatever it is. Right.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Like, game calling. Right. That was like.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, game calling. Right, Right.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Little things.

[David Ross]

Cheering if you get pinched.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. Cheering. This feeling. Feeling like that you're contributing in a way, and. Yeah. Like, does it piss you off to get pulled? Hell, yeah, it pisses you off. But I. I'm not gonna let anyone

[Anthony Rizzo]

know that that's the competitor.

[David Ross]

You never let it show.

[Kyle Schwarber]

No.

[David Ross]

Like, that's what I always remember about you. Like, good, bad, or indifferent, you were always there.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

You knew where you're gonna be the next day. You're gonna be doing your same routine. And, like, what you're saying, too, about getting pulled and then pouring your heart and soul into Albert, which is amazing because you are pissed off. Like, ego's taking a huge hit. It's a big situation, but there's nothing better, and I always say this, than when you're in the box and you see all your boys.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

On the bench. Right. Like, dude, I would go up in Wrigley and bump, bump, bump. And I would literally, like, I still see you, both of you, like, next to each other, and it was like.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

I would just look at in the dugout between pitches sometimes and be like, everyone's there. And like, I got this.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Like, that's Riz's walkout song for people that don't know. But yeah, yeah, that's. That's, that's kind of team we had, I think. And, and before we get off this topic, you've got to tell the John Lester retirement montage last year, last year, 2020, Chicago.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So I was John's guy.

[David Ross]

John's.

[Kyle Schwarber]

John's guy, if that's. I was John's guy for about three, four years. Then all of a sudden, I became Katana's guy for a little bit.

[David Ross]

Do you ever saw a highlight in 2015-20, minus 16 to 2020 of Schwartber up in the outfield? John Lester was pitching. Okay.

[Kyle Schwarber]

He's not. I, I, I remember. You know, John would always say, like, you know, I would give up. He would give up homers to the dudes. Like, he's got his guy, like, Ian Oswares. Right? So, like, I'll always remember this with this Day where I fucked up a play, Joey Voto hits me with the jump swing. You know, he went front door cutter. Hit him with the jump swing kind of. And I'm like, I mean, this is 2019, right? Like, I've seen plenty of flyballs now. Like, I got pretty decent reads. And I'm like, ah, that's a can of shit. And then I'm just kind of hitting that little jog. And then all of a sudden, it just, like, hits another gear. Panic starts setting, and you're like, oh, get back. Tips. Fucking drop it. Get it in. He. When he was following him up, he goes, boathouse. Hits it off the boathouse, and he's already dropped. I'm just like, like, oh, I'm in the doghouse right now. Like, I like. And, you know, being in the back of the plane with you guys, like, I, you know, we all sit back there and didn't. John didn't even look at me a single, you know, didn't say a single word to me. I'm like, yeah, I know I'm in the doghouse. But so now it's Johnny's last.

[Anthony Rizzo]

I'm not mad. I'm disappointed.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, that's what it always felt like. Disappointed dad. Right. But so it's 2020, you know, obviously there's a lot of uncertainty in the air with what's going to happen in the future. And John's going to be a free agent. And Riz comes up to me one day. He goes, man, we got to do something. We got to do something special for John. I'm like, yeah, you know, like, what are you thinking? He's like, I think, like, a video would be cool. And then it was like this, like, snap of, like, aha. Came over Rizzo.

[David Ross]

He goes like, I got it.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm like, what do you got? He goes, we need to make a video. You up plays in the outfield, the blooper reel. This is this in when Jon's pitching. I'm like, yes. Like, let's make like. I'll narrate it. Like, you know, try to be like, you know, corny, serious, you know, and

[David Ross]

it was all the plays. And then you get John's reaction.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

So the commentator from, like, the commentators. The announcers. And then it would be go right to jump.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It's awesome.

[David Ross]

Kyle's narrating the whole thing.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Awesome. You know, like, we start off with, like, I start off saying, by Jonathan Tyler Lester, and I will remember you.

[David Ross]

That's the song playing on the background the entire time.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So we get this video done, and John's having a side session, and I guess he had a really bad side. He's coming in all pissed off, and whole team's out there kind of like we're acting like we're gonna circle, stretch and whatever. Rizzo's got a chair, pulls out the chair, sees just John. Come on, sit down. And John's like, no.

[David Ross]

Yeah. He's like, what the fuck?

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm not sitting down. So we get him to sit down, we play the video, but it's just me just absolutely clanking balls out there left and right. And John's throwing his glove down, you know, or he's going, fuck, it's great, you know, and there's. There's even like one of my most infamous errors, which I don't even think a lot of people remember. It wasn't even when he was pitching it. We made the clip because I'm like, this. Put my worst airs on there and give his facial. Like, there's one. It's pouring down rain. We're playing Milwaukee. It's. I mean, it's. It's pooping on us. And I think Pierce Johnson might be making his major league debut. And someone I think it was. What was that guy's name? The VR hits me in the sky, hits a sky high fly ball. The wind's howling in and it's pouring, and I come running in. Javi is playing short. So I'm running in and Javi's like, all the way over there, and that ball's gonna land right there. I'm like, I gotta call it. I'm like, I got it, you know, Come sprinting in, clank it, rolls onto the infield. So what do I, you know, guy on first base, I go, go for the option shovel pass, second, throwing in the shitter in the right field. So I'm a freaking. This muddy mess, you know, pissed off, soaking in my sorrows. And then the best thing that they could have ever done just to really make, you know, punch it in, they pull the tarp. Just right after it, they're like, all right, we saw enough games over. Pull the tarp. Come on. So I go, I'm like, you got to be fucking kidding me right now. Like, I got to go into the clubhouse looking like this and just make it a play like that. So I, you know, I'm head hanging, you know, walking down the stairs, get. Sit in my chair. I'm trying not to look at anyone. I'm embarrassed, right? I'm like, God, I Stink. I stink. Like, everyone thinks I stink. And then I finally like turn back around and I get a peek of Riz. And he's just sitting there, this dialect.

[Anthony Rizzo]

He's always,

[Kyle Schwarber]

thank God someone laughed at me. I'm like, thank God. Thank goodness someone laughs. Because it's like, that's how I know that we were talking about John. It's just like I'm just rolling right now. Just like all these things when I was there that made me the player I am now. Like, you know, I used to be that guy that would, you know, really beat the shit out of myself. And, you know. Yeah, I still do. But like, the way that I get over it now is like I just make fun of myself.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like, can't take it too serious. It's easier now than it used to be because, you know, you got experience. You, you know, you're not an arbitration trying to. You're not a free agent.

[David Ross]

Level five players now, the Joe Madden five levels. You're level five.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

You got paid. You won a World Series.

[Kyle Schwarber]

He's trying to win another trying to win.

[Anthony Rizzo]

But the best thing to do is get it out in the open and put it on yourself and make fun of it and like laugh. That's why it's just like, he's such a good. Like he's never, you know, other than his own stuff sometimes it's like he's always making fun of like, no, bro, that was embarrassing. We all saw it.

[Kyle Schwarber]

We all.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Hey, I was, I was. You were there. I remember when I snapped with about compete one time after I was managing, I think it was 2020, I called a team meeting and I'm, I'm. I'm going off on what's going about compete on the screaming. I look over at Riz and like he is smiling ear to ear. He's right. After this, I get through just road raging. He comes to my office, he goes, bro, it was so hard not to bring out my phone and to fucking video that I was like, I would have killed you. I would have killed you with that sign.

[David Ross]

You got to keep it light.

[Anthony Rizzo]

You got to keep it light. You know what I mean? You just kill it.

[David Ross]

You. You're pit. Because it's easy to keep it light when you know that people care.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah. You know, I mean, given the effort,

[David Ross]

when you're doing everything you can and you're just. The results aren't there, like, it's the worst feeling in the world, from my experience when I was young was when you weren't playing well. This is part of just being a young player. You felt like you're on island. You're on an island. And having that experience when I was younger, knowing that you probably felt like you're an island or someone. No, you're not on a island. Like, we're here for 162 plus and it doesn't matter, good, bad or indifferent, like you're Kyle Schwerberg. I'm gonna treat you like a human being. Whether you're hitting 50 plus homers now or grinding, you know, in an over 20 slump, it doesn't matter.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like, the effort's there. Oh, right. And it's like, yeah, like, being able to see that young was this. Like, it's like that, kind of like that. Aha. It's like, yeah. And like, why, why am I taking this so serious, right? Like, why am I thinking about this the next day? Why am I thinking about this a week later, right? Like, why am I doing this? And then like, you have something like that happen. You're like, all right. Like, yeah, you put your shoulders down and you're like, okay.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Best version of yourself usually having fun when you're out there playing like a kid.

[Alex English]

It is.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And that takes a little bit, man. It's like the more that you can realize that you can have fun playing the game, right? Like, the game. It's a game. It's a game we play. And yes, obviously we get paid a bunch of money to do a job and do what we need to do, but like, we play so many games that you have to.

[David Ross]

You're.

[Kyle Schwarber]

There's an easy way to get on that roller coaster and then all of a sudden that's downhill. It doesn't end. Yeah, right. I've been there. Doesn't end, right? Like, it's just not fun to play the game like that. And now that, like, you know, you can enjoy it and you can laugh at yourself and you know, being older now, being one of the older dudes in the room is fucking crazy to say.

[David Ross]

Great.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, dude, I'm like 33. I'm used to like fucking 40 year olds in the room.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Like, but you've got such a good around baseball. Like, I traveled around, did TV a little bit. You've got such a good reputation in the clubhouse. You've been in the leadership. The things you've learned, you're passing on to others, which is so important. And just like you're saying, now make a little bit of money. And taking. You told me the other day, like, it's so fun to take young guys to dinner and be able to pick up the tab and be that guy now, going after Lackey and Lester, the guys that took care of us and showed you how it was done. Now you pass that along. It's such a good quality.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It's awesome. Like, that's the game. Like, that's. I always say it, like, I think I've already said before, like, just, like, I'm not the player I am now without you two. Without the older, like, all those dudes who stepped in our clubhouse that, you know, Lester, Lackey, Hayward, you know, I can keep naming people. John Jay, you know, like, just go, Dexter Fowler, you know, I can go down the list of how many great freaking human beings we had in our locker room. A roster full, for sure, that were just amazing. Even, like, younger dudes. Albert, you know, even, you know, KB Javi, right? Like, just, like, yeah, just having the room that we had, and I.

[Anthony Rizzo]

You know, it's special.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, it was special, man.

[David Ross]

Let's go and take us to the 2015 wild card, bro.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Oh, I mean, we.

[David Ross]

We go in 97, 98, and what, 100 wins? We finished third. We're rolling into Pittsburgh with, like, honestly, with a lot of swag, right? We finished third, but we were. We felt like we were.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Well, we finished hot that. We finished hot that September, too.

[David Ross]

Oh, yeah. And so we go in.

[Superhuman Podcast Host]

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the Enhanced Games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all. Embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on £10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

[Superhuman Podcast Host]

Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sam J]

Do you remember when Diana Ross double tapped little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people? I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do? A little Kim. Well, you. You can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J.

[Alex English]

And I'm Alex English.

[Sam J]

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, including

[Alex English]

a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just cause of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but. Yeah, yeah, but just so Y' all know, I mean, at this point. Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

[Sam J]

We also have a on the table

[Alex English]

right now, so thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[Alex English]

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

My mother in law spent years sabotaging our relationship until karma made her pay for it.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

Wait a minute, Dakota, how bad did it get?

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Well, it got bad enough that her son in law had to eventually arrest her Him. She moved in for two weeks, lasted for five. She left nail clippings in the bathtub, candy stuck to the furniture, and then she pressed her ear against the bedroom door and burst in screaming.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

She did not burst in while they were.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

She did. They kicked her out and paid for her hotel and they thought it's finally over. Days later, she called her son in law at work claiming that his partner had been in some kind of freak accident and had been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. He called every hospital in the city and his partner was making coffee the entire time.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

She faked a medical emergency just to test whether or not he loved her son.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Yeah, and she sat in the hospital parking lot waiting for him to see if he would show up. When that didn't work, she walked into the son in law's police station and filed a kidnapping report against him.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

She filed a kidnapping report against him in his own police station and spoilers.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Karma's gonna show up in the best way possible. So if you want to hear how this story ends, search okay Stories StoryTime on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening to podcasts.

[Sam J]

The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness month, tune into the podcast Deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self discovery and returning to to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well being and the practices that help you find clarity, peace and self mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected, we're becoming more individualized. But we actually need people and connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to Become holy. This podcast is for you. To hear more, listen to Deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[David Ross]

We got Garrett Cole on the mound, who is dominant and not fazed. And you go, big fly there.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. Well, I just remember sitting in a hotel that night because I know that they were up in the air between Lariano and Garrett Cole, because I know Lariano pitched really good against us that year and Lara was gross.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And so they kind of gave the heads up. The. The guys like, hey, you know, if Cole's pitching, you're in. If Lariano's pitching, you're out. It's going to be. I think it was Seizer man. So news come out. Garrett's starting. So I'm like, I can't sleep. I'm like, I'm jacked up. I'm excited to get Jake talking on Twitter. You know, like, it's rolling. And so, yeah, like, the first bat. Dex lead off single, steals the first pitch. I take it and I'm like, all I can think about, I'm like, in that bat. I'm like, okay, get him over, get him over, get him over. That's all I can think about, was getting them over. And he throws me two sliders. I swing over top of him, and then he threw me heater away, and I poked it for a single.

[David Ross]

One nothing.

[Kyle Schwarber]

One nothing. So now we get the second at bat, and I'm like, I'm sitting on a slider. I'm like, I just swung over two of them, you know, poked a pokede a single left on a heater. I go, I'm sitting on a slider and, you know, get two. Oh, he didn't throw my slider. Yeah, you went like, heater ball, change up ball. Then he goes, heater right down the middle. Two zero. Just swallow it. Like, boom. My God, please don't do that again. Please don't do that again. I'm looking, you know, he goes, two, one slider and threw a bad one, which helped, but. And he. Yeah, Allegheny. Yeah. Got him in. That got him in the river. Like, that was like, bro. I always. I always tell people, they always go, like, what's your favorite home run? I'm like, it's hard to really point, but, like, I think that's probably like my top. Like, top one.

[David Ross]

Your first playoff game. Yeah, like, you're one for one with a single. Put us ahead.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Then you hit a homer and like, I think for people forget how loud Pittsburgh was.

[David Ross]

Yeah, that was the loudest place I've ever played.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I tell people all the time, like, I don't think you guys realize how loud this place gets, because I remember, yeah, they were a great team. And then, like, remember the. Someone hit the ball. Addie kicked it.

[David Ross]

Double play.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And then the next dude comes up, same ball, but they were. And I'm playing right field. I'm shitting my pants, and I. I can't hear anything. My head's shaking. I'm just standing still. And I'm like, what's going on?

[Anthony Rizzo]

How loud that is?

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm like, what's going on? Like, I can't. Like, why is it shaking? And, you know, then we get the double play ball. We end it, right? And obviously, we had a good scuffle, too. Oh, yeah, Everything like that. But I'm sure Rossi's told that story. But,

[David Ross]

yeah, I remember in 2021. Fast forward real quick. Red Sox, Yankees wild card. Garrett calling them out.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Schwarz, Reese's, shots of gear, taking daggers of gear.

[David Ross]

I'm not. Well, I'm not. I'm literally there the night before. I'm like, Schwarber took him deep before. I'm like, oh, no.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And you do it again. Same inning.

[David Ross]

No way.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Same pitch. Different pitch, but same out. Still.

[David Ross]

I remember. I remember going into the dugout that inning, and I looked at judgy Fenway Park, Yankees, Red Sox, right? And I look at Judge and go, bro, this is awesome.

[Kyle Schwarber]

This is amazing.

[David Ross]

He looks at me like, bro, we're losing. We're not. We're gonna win this game. And we ended up tying it, and you guys ended up winning, but I was just like. To be part of that. And like, I don't know.

[Anthony Rizzo]

I.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It wasn't tie that game, but we had the lead the whole time. But anyways, my bad. Our bad. Sorry, but no, no, let's get back to. I will say that was. How cool was that atmosphere, too? But yeah, like, that was cool.

[David Ross]

You. We. We win that game. We party like rock stars. Like, we were in that celebration was like two hours.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Remember the. The floor was like toted in beer in Pittsburgh.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like, just walking in cases here. Sean Casey here with us. I told him. I go. I go. I'm still baffled how you ended up in our clubhouse partying with us in 2015. Yeah, I looked over, and you see Sean Casey and Eddie better standing right next to each other, popping bottles.

[David Ross]

Case was with us in 15.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And when we won 16, I know I'm like, casey, what's up, man? Like, he's like, I love this guy. But yeah, just like that was like having that first, like, the, the moment. Right. For personally, it kind of gives you, like, that sense of calm a little bit. Just for the fact of like, no. Nervous as shit, but like, but you

[Anthony Rizzo]

lock it in, bro. Like, you're, you're, you're focused.

[David Ross]

Gamer.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah. You're a gamer. Everybody, not everybody can do that. And you've proven over your career, 23 postseason homers.

[David Ross]

I don't know if you know that. I do.

[Anthony Rizzo]

23. Say that again.

[David Ross]

23 postseason homers. That's insane.

[Anthony Rizzo]

My bad, homie.

[David Ross]

That you wrote Garrett Cole that year. I can, I think I can do this in order. Waka Seagris.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

Wait.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Was walking the one that went on

[Kyle Schwarber]

top of the swim.

[David Ross]

And I'm a little, I'm a little bitter on that one, but it's not about. We'll get to that. Harvey deGrom, five homers, bro. Harvey was nasty. He's the Dark Knight.

[Anthony Rizzo]

The GR one.

[David Ross]

Very good one.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Very good.

[David Ross]

Anyone ever hear of Jacob the Grom? Was that kidding me? But, bro, your rookie year and then the infamous one off ses, which is the Schwar bomb. That's still at Wrigley Field in the.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Tell that story real quick.

[David Ross]

You want to go into first time. Cubby's clinching against the Cardinals. Against the Cardinals, our division rivals and

[Kyle Schwarber]

hate and hold on. And Riz had a hell of a ds. You, you had a really good DS too. You had how many pumps? I think you.

[David Ross]

You clipped Seis twice the night before. Yeah. So I.

[Anthony Rizzo]

It's not about you, Riz.

[Kyle Schwarber]

We've this every time.

[David Ross]

This isn't about me.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I love it. This is amazing.

[David Ross]

Up until that point, it honestly, I got to go back. I had never gotten really a curtain call at Wrigley, and it always chat me. It took me to like 2019, 2020 to ever get my first call. Maybe 2021.

[Kyle Schwarber]

You didn't tell me this part.

[David Ross]

Well, it was only 2015, so it was only a few years in, but I hit a go. I hit the go ahead homer right where everyone's celebrating. Then he comes up and hits a moonshot. And all anyone talks about the whole day is about Kyle's home run. And I'm like, wait, hold on, hold on.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I, I.

[Alex English]

What about me?

[David Ross]

It's all about me. Go back to the bro. You have a ball at the most, one of the most iconic stadiums in a shrine. How that's Insane.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. I told them when they. I was like. They told me they wanted to do that, and I was like, absolutely. But I go, like, I didn't know if you're ever gonna take down. I want the ball. Right. I don't want you guys to keep it. I want it. And I mean, for it to still be up there.

[David Ross]

It's awesome.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It's like, for how much Tours that are pretty. For how much history is in that ballpark.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

In general. And the Feel like that you're able to, you know, for how small it is. Right. Like, you're able to kind of leave a footprint there. Like. Like, it's awesome. And yeah. Like, I remember when we went up on the. We, me and Rossi and I forget it might have been Dino went up there and saw the. The scoreboard. And, like, we went up on top of the scoreboard where they put the ball and shit. Like. Like, I'm like, this is cool. It's awesome, right? But yeah, the. The have that. And that postseason. I mean, special run there where, you know, we felt invincible. You know, Then all of a sudden,

[Anthony Rizzo]

Daniel Murphy, he was in the lobby

[Kyle Schwarber]

in Houston the other day.

[David Ross]

This.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Him clapping everything. One knee, one hand. But. And even the, like, I always talk about, like, that pitching. The pitching staff from the Mets, where. I mean, that's wholeheartedly. Wholeheartedly. Why I never root for who we. Who, like, I want to play in the postseason is because they were playing the Dodgers and then the Mets, and we. I'm pretty sure that you got. You guys swept them that year. They were all seven games. Regular season won all seven. And, you know, I just remember thinking, like, yeah, the Mets won. We got them. You know, like, we got the guys we want. They love their heaters. We're a good heater hitting team. And all of a sudden, they just flip the script, like, dropping in, breaking balls. This.

[Anthony Rizzo]

That.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm like, these guys never do that. And they're just executing everything. And in, like, hindsight right now, where I'm at, like, you know, having some tough postseason losses and shit like that, like, it always comes down to, like, the pitching aspect, like, pitching defense. Like, wow, man. Like, if you run into some really good pitching that are just executing. It's hard. It's nearly impossible to get anything going. And, like, that's what the Mets did in 15 against us. Like, you can't get any. We can't get anything going, really. And they just piloted on and Daniel Murphy just being crazy.

[Anthony Rizzo]

We got a taste of. I thought the Best thing that could happen is we got a taste of running deep in the postseason after, you know, starting off a little bit slow and really hitting our stride in August. Right. And we go into a deep run in the postseason. Now everybody's hungry going into the off season. And we come into 2016, I was like, expectations.

[David Ross]

Yeah, we were. That 2016 camp was the funnest big league camp I'll ever be a part of. Right? It was. There's buses doing shows. Everything's going crazy.

[Anthony Rizzo]

My little scooter.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Aussie. Dexter comes back.

[David Ross]

Dexter comes back. All the storylines. It's like we had already won the World Series going into that.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And we signed J. Hey, too. We signed Jay Lackey. Lackey. Zobrist. Yeah.

[David Ross]

As amazing as the vibes were in camp, right? We get off to this insane start. Like, we blow the doors off the Angels. We start in Anaheim, two games, boat race them. What is it, the game? Third game. It's third game, third game of the season. Lackey's on the mound, and Gene Segura is at the bat. Did you play with him?

[Kyle Schwarber]

I did. I let him know.

[David Ross]

And there's a ball. I mean, you talked about this earlier. Like, you're. If there's a ball you think you get, you're going for it, and you did. And. But you hit a free safety, Roman, that took out your knees.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

And Dexter, but when you went down, I was. I literally was just watching it. You acl? Mc. Total.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. Lcl. Yeah, bro.

[David Ross]

You reached for the ball to try to. To stop that ball and throw it in after blowing your knee out, which is just, like, says so much about you. But when that happens, three games in to what we believe is going to be a championship season, how just heartbreaking.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, that sucked. I mean, and, you know, everyone always asks, like, are you, like, do you like watching the video? I mean, I don't care, right? Like, it happened. It happened to me. But, like, it sucked, dude. I. I just remember always just thinking, like, so when it first happened, you know, like, yeah, like, plays over with. I'm on the ground. I'm like, my ankle. I thought I snapped my ankle like this, like, from here to here was burning. And so, funny story. I don't know if you guys even remember this, but. So they took me out of the game, you know, get carted off, get card off the field, Go get the X ray on my ankle. Because I'm telling them, like, my ankle's on fire.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And they go, hey, good news. Ankle's not broken. Like, they go, high grade sprain. And then the Cubs put out, like, Kyle Schwerber, less game. Left the game with. With an ankle sprain. And they go, you. You got carted off with an ankle sprain, bro.

[David Ross]

There was.

[Kyle Schwarber]

We were ruthless. Oh, it was awesome. You came out of the game laughing, but, like, then I. So, like, back in, like, the exam room, you know, tell them like, hey, you said your knee's a little sore. I was like, yeah, they hit you with those tests or whatever it is, and they're like, yeah, you gotta get an mri. I'm like, ah, that's probably not good. And they're like, not great. So in the hotel room, like, thinking, running through my head, I'm like, man, like, ankle's not broken. Maybe, you know, banged up knee, not super bad. Get the mri. And then they tell you the news, like, hey, you know, you just blew out your ACL and your lcl. And like, the. The first thing that came to my mind, and I'm not. I'm not you. When I say this was, I go, I'm gonna miss out on the most unbelievable run. That's the first thing I said. I go, I'm gonna miss out on this.

[David Ross]

We literally, like, we manifested it.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I wasn't. Yeah, like, that's all we were talking about in camp. Like, you know, 108 years, like, it doesn't roll off any better if you say 107 or 109. That sucks.

[David Ross]

Good point, right? That's a great point.

[Kyle Schwarber]

108 rolls off unbelievable. You know, like, did you.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Were you depressed?

[Kyle Schwarber]

That's all I thought. Oh, yeah, dude. Like, that's all I thought about was like, you know, man, I'm gonna miss out. Because I knew, like, obviously from our previous year, and then we just added all these special dudes and, you know, like, I'm gonna be on the shelf for this. And yeah, I remember. Just like, I remember you coming up and giving me a big hug. Like, I was like, it's gonna be all right.

[Anthony Rizzo]

And I told people I was supposed to retire. I told people that. My saying to everybody, it's like, the only time that I thought I might come back and play it was because we didn't get to play with Kyle Schwartz. If we don't win the World Series, I'm coming back. Because Kyle Schwarter, one of our best players, didn't even get to participate the entire year. Like, how many games we win that year?

[Kyle Schwarber]

You guys won over 100.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Over 100.

[Kyle Schwarber]

The thing is, you're part of it. I was there hanging out.

[David Ross]

But you know what? We won that game.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So you were 303030, but you had

[David Ross]

a pretty good record that year.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah, you did.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Undefeated.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Undefeated every game.

[Anthony Rizzo]

So fast forward now. It's starting to get a little bit of hope. We're hearing in the locker room, we're at the end of the season, we're going to the playoffs, and they're starting to talk. We're going deep into our playoff run. They're starting to talk. Schwarz is feeling good. He's down. We're sending him to Arizona where he's gonna. He's hitting in the cage. He's taking life. You had. They were. You were fuzz machines.

[David Ross]

They were talking about that from, like, day one. I remember, like, oh, World Series. And it was like, yeah, yeah, right?

[Anthony Rizzo]

Like, yeah, you're not thinking.

[David Ross]

You're like, yeah, but like, I remember that. I remember you being part of our team that year.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

I don't.

[David Ross]

You didn't travel with us, but every time we were home, you were in the weight room grinding. Like, grinding. Yeah. So when all those rumors really started coming to. To life and it was like, dude, shorter could do this. We were like, there was no, like, nah, like, there's no point. Like, he's gonna be. It was like, no, let's.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Theo would come around and be like, rossi, Schwerber look good. He look, he's in Arizona. He's looking good. He's hitting balls hard. What. What was like, how was that? Like, what were you.

[David Ross]

How many swings did you actually take?

[Kyle Schwarber]

So I remember it was like, it wasn't that many, really. Well, they tried to, like, limit me. I was telling them, like, guys like, if I blow out my oblique, if I blow out whatever.

[David Ross]

Oh, they got limited because your knee.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, well, they weren't limiting me because my knee. They were like, doc. Doc was like, ah, you're good. He's like, like, pretty much. They were telling me, the doc told me, hey, shoot for winter ball, right? Then go do a doctor's checkup. Hey, shoot for, you know, spring training or what? It was first spring training, then it was winter ball. So I'm thinking I'm going to go play winter ball in Puerto Rico. And you guys are playing the Dodgers. It's that travel day. So we 1 and 2 are in Chicago. There's a travel day of the LA.

[David Ross]

Yeah, I remember because I was like, we're Schwarbs. When we were in la.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And I was like, I Was like, I was like fired up. I was a certified cheerleader. Like, I was, you know, I was the guy who would be drinking beers for everyone

[Anthony Rizzo]

to Arizona.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So you guys went to la. I saw the doctor and Doc, this hits me with like the quick, like, you know, test the knee. He goes, I know what you guys got going on right now. He's like, I wouldn't see any reason why, you know, if there was like pinch hit or you know, even possible vh. I don't see why. He goes, you know, everything you're going to do would be predictable. He goes to unpredictable. Things are what could cause you to hurt it again.

[David Ross]

Famous doctor's lines.

[Kyle Schwarber]

The unpredictable, like, you know, being in the outfield and having to like cut for a ball or whatever it is. Because when you're running the bases, you know what you're doing in your head. He goes, it's predictable running. And he goes, unless you just have to slam on the brakes. He's like, try to avoid that. I'm like, I'm like, hell yeah. Like, let me get. I'm jump off the table. I'm like, matt Johnson's with me. And I'm like, I gotta call Theo now. He's like, whoa, hold up. All right, whatever. So they do the whole thing. We fly to la, taking hacks. Get into LA late that night. And I took my first, first hacks. And God, Bussy hung around, you know, till it was 9:30 at night. I got the video still on my phone. It's like 9:30 at night. Bussy's still there hanging out, waiting for me to get there. He knows that I'm going to take some packs him, Mertz. So supposed to be just tea by the end of it. We're already like, of course. Full throw, Armin. Of course. So then the next day they get me in that fall league. So go to the fall league. Like they tried to limit me because they didn't want me to blow out anything. I'm like, dude, blow out. I'm fine. If I blow out, I blow out.

[David Ross]

Get the whole off season.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, I got the whole off season. But what we were doing a lot was dudes, we'd set up the hack, the big hack.

[Anthony Rizzo]

This was before the pitching machine.

[David Ross]

Yeah, this was before pitching machines were even really big in the game.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Right. We were setting that thing up and I was like, turn that thing all the way up fuzzy and like, all right, if I can't swing then I'll do stop the bat drill on it. Then tell me to Stop the bat, dude. I'm like, so many behind the scenes things of like the dudes there who put so much. Dude, we spent hours. I mean hours. Just. I would track balls.

[David Ross]

I don't even think we knew how much you did. We knew. We know how much you did, but

[Kyle Schwarber]

we don't really know hours, man. Of being on that field firing balls, like five baskets and then take a breather, go do three more baskets. Of just tracking balls. And then I have someone behind me in the cage and I tell them if it's a strike or a ball, like, we'd be setting up nasty breakers. You know, things like that. Just trying to get like, strike zone, right? Like. Like that strike. That's ball. And like going into the games, like, yeah, I was behind. And the funny thing is, is that Cleveland was on the foll league team. So, like, their coaches are throwing me bp.

[David Ross]

No way.

[Kyle Schwarber]

In the falling games.

[David Ross]

I love.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It's amazing. It's awesome. They're throwing me BP and stuff like that. And I would have drilled you in the knee, so. And dude, I think I might have hit maybe like one or two balls good. I'm like, man, there's no chance that they're going to put me on the roster. I'm like, there's no. Like, that's what I was thinking. I was like, like, there's probably not a good chance. Like, there was hope in my head. I'm like, and so it's the workout day for the world series and you guys are there. I'm playing a fall league game that day and get done. I think it was like three at bats and go to my phone, got a text from Theo. I still have it on my phone. And it's, congratulations, we're putting you on a roster. You're batting. You're batting fifth tomorrow against Corey Goosebumps skin. But, you know, you're batting fifth against Corey Kluber and packing. I'm like, they go, we got a jet waiting for you. I'm like, this is awesome.

[Anthony Rizzo]

PJ life.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Let's goosebumps again, bro. Like, just this getting to remember it with you guys. But like, so I. I'm like, you know, get to make that call again. You know, got to make that call again to the family. Hey, guys.

[David Ross]

It was another injection for us too, you know, Life.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. And that, like, that was like the one thing I just always remember and is just like, I didn't know how it was going to be. Right. Like, yeah, I was with you guys and thank goodness I was with you guys, that whole year. Because I always tell people, if I was just in Arizona rotten away, there's no chance in hell.

[David Ross]

Well, a lot of guys, when they get hurt, season ending injury, you don't see them, like, they'll come in on their own hours at the field and they'll leave where. When we were home, he was coming in when we came in and he stayed for the game and he was part of the boys.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, and a lot of time, too. They'll send guys to the spring training complex and they got rehabs.

[David Ross]

Exactly.

[Kyle Schwarber]

They got rehab coordinators.

[David Ross]

Exactly.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And thank goodness, you know, we just. They just renovated Wrigley. We had the amazing clubhouse. The. The training room was state of the art. Weight room was nice and, you know, weight room was amazing. And they were like, hey, we want you to stay here and rehab here. I'm like, like, you won't travel because obviously on the road's a little smaller. But you know, at home, when we're home, we want you here. I was like, absolutely. Like, I want to do that. So that was like the one thing that kept me going through that whole thing. Like, you know, when you said, like, you know, the whole like, negative thought things, like, yeah, like, was there tough days? Absolutely, there was tough days. You know, I. For how many times I thought that I was never going to have a normal knee again, you know, was this thing ever gonna bend again? Right? Like, am I gonna be able to hit normal? You know, I like, it was. It wasn't a fun year, and it was a fun year, but like, that time was. It was tough. You know, thank goodness I had like the support system of, you know, my family, my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time, and you guys, right? Like, that kept me going. Like, my goal when you guys would come in the field was, my day's going to be done. Like, I'm done. I'm not getting in their way at all. Like, that's what I wanted to make sure that I was not going to be in your guys way because I knew that there was such a special thing that we had going on. And I just want to be here for the ride.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Well, that was my memory of you because all the glass in the weight room, we're getting there in our street clothes and you're finishing up your last exercises with bussy in there, guys in there, all that rehab stuff, that's the stuff. I remember you in there doing all those balancing things with your knee and your agility.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm like, I just want to be Done.

[David Ross]

Bossy would. Bossy Tim Boss, our strength. Our strength coach that year, would literally, a couple times a week, be like, every time we were home, your. Your boy Schwarb is working his ass off. He's gonna. He's gonna do this, and it's like, you know, every April, May, June, you're like, yeah, okay.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And then you see him, and he's

[David Ross]

like, like, oh, he's starting to move.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

And it was, like.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It was, like, such a big part, too, for me, of course.

[David Ross]

Yeah. Keep me insane, bro. There's a lot of dark.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. When you're hurt. Yeah.

[David Ross]

Again, this is another thing. Just hopefully young kids watching this, but when someone's hurt, it's so easy to just be all right, you can't do anything for me. But being hurt later on in my career, which I never was realizing how many of your teammates just kind of, like, go about their day and, like, you feel so bad you can't play.

[Anthony Rizzo]

You can't play. That's the thing. Being around the team, it's also really hard because you're still invested, but you can't contribute.

[David Ross]

You can't do anything.

[Anthony Rizzo]

You can't do anything. Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

And you're like.

[David Ross]

You just feel on an island. So when anyone's hurt my whole career, I always try to give them that love because it's like, dude, I wish you were playing with us.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. Like, that was the big thing that I always felt like you guys gave me during that time. It was like, I always remember. I always remember Pedro Strope. Pedro Stropes goes poppy World Series, like always, with a smirk. And I'm like, on crutches. Like, there's no.

[David Ross]

I remember you getting called out in Wrigley on the crutches and the big.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

That's a whole. Another crutch.

[Reality with the King Host]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. We don't need to go there, but

[Anthony Rizzo]

let me read your. Let me read these 2016 World Series stats. 20 of bats, a.412 average, seven hits, a double, two RBIs, and one stolen

[David Ross]

base with a broken leg.

[Anthony Rizzo]

With a bag in there.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Snug that bag. Heiter comes up to me. He goes, hey, you want a steal bag? Yeah. In the inside of your voice. And I'm like, yeah, I want to steal a base. It's game seven. I'll do anything. And he's like, all right, we got a time on Kluber right here. He goes, he's going to. And they're not even holding me on. Like, of course. Mike's standing right Napoli's standing right behind me. And he goes, all right. When he puts his head down, count to 1002 and then go. I'm like, God. So he goes, wait one pitch and then do it. So wait a pitch. So I get the lead. His 1001, 1002, go. Was 1001, 1002, go. I start taking off. Dude, he hasn't even, like. I'm like, oh, man, please don't step off. I'm like, please don't step off and make me look like an idiot right now. And, like. Like, I'm halfway to second base, and he lifts his leg up to throw the pitch. I'm like, oh, thank goodness.

[David Ross]

How good does that feel, though, as a big guy? I mean, you know, all of us, when they. When you steal and they. You go. And you're like, oh, shit.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Oh, no.

[David Ross]

And they lift their leg.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I had a trailer attached onto me, especially during that season.

[David Ross]

Yeah, but you're sneaky fast, bro.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I mean, I got thrown out of second base in game seven, too. Well, you know, but it was like. I was just like, dear goodness, please don't throw me out. But, yeah, like, it was.

[Anthony Rizzo]

So you play in every game. DH In Cleveland.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Thank goodness for the American League.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Game seven. You're in there. The craziness of that game. Rain delay. What do you remember about that speech?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, I did. Well, I just remember just all the emotions in the room. It was like. It was. It was interesting. I mean, like, Chappie's crying. You know, Riz is kind of, like, shocked and pissed at the same time, right? Like, you're. You're, like, scanning the room, trying to think about, like, how can you. You know, I remember that. Like, you know, I'm just thinking, like,

[Anthony Rizzo]

the rain stopped, and you're leaving.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm thinking, like, I gotta get a fucking hit.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

That's all I'm thinking about. How the fuck can I get on base right now? Like, I'm not thinking about, like, anything else. That's where my mind went to. And then, obviously, we have the amazing, you know, moment we had in the weight room where it just, like, cleared everyone's heads. It was like, this is the reality of the situation. Here we go, right? Like, and I can go on for long time about J. Hey. And how, like, how impressive that was and how that stuck with me in my career. But, like, yeah, that's where my mind went to, was, I got to get fucking hit right now. I got to get the fuck on base and pardon my language for all the Kids that could be watching. But, like, that's what I'm thinking. And I remember coming out and, you know, Rossi's. You know, I remember this story. Yeah. I remember you thinking. He's thinking. He's like, what do you got?

[Anthony Rizzo]

And I go, you got your batting gloves on. You're, like, tightening them.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Got it. I go, I got it. He goes, you better got it exactly

[David Ross]

like that, too,

[Anthony Rizzo]

bro.

[David Ross]

You.

[Anthony Rizzo]

The look you gave me in. In my eyes, you were, like, so locked in. You were like, if this guy throws me a cut her in, I'm gonna knock.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. And it's Moon. Yeah. And it's Brian Shaw. Right? Who's cutter guy? And I'm like, I need a cutter in right here. Because, like, I'm thinking, like, I'm going deep.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like, I'm like. I just had that, like, feeling. I'm like, dude, I'm going deep. And it. In all reality, it wasn't even the pitch that I probably should have swung out. It was down and in. I barreled it and got it past him. And, like, the ball was.

[Anthony Rizzo]

The ball was 2 inches from Kitmus's glove and shallow right field. He didn't have time to bend it,

[Kyle Schwarber]

get to it, you know, hit that fist pump going down the line because, like, yeah, like, I did it. Like, I got the job done. And I knew. And I. And they didn't even tell me, like, pinch runners coming in. Like, I already knew. I'm like, I'm out. Hider's trying to get my stuff. Like, hey, great job. I go, I go. Time. See you, Hyder.

[Reality with the King Host]

I'm out.

[Kyle Schwarber]

You know, here comes Albert with, like, the most underrated tag play. I always say, like, if that was me running in that time, if that

[David Ross]

was 99% of the league.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, yeah.

[David Ross]

There's.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm past. I'm on second base or past it. And I thought that was then I'm. Yeah, I'm thinking it could be in the gap or it could be a double. It could be a homer.

[David Ross]

There was literally. We're filming this right now during the world baseball Classic. There was a ball yesterday. Bryce hit the center field. Bobby Witts on first. It's either a homer and out. And he was, you know, at second and then had to go tag. And literally every time I see that ball, you think Al Moore automatically think

[Kyle Schwarber]

Albert or more man, how he rookie

[David Ross]

didn't play much in the World Series. Had the whereabouts in game seven. Full circle moment. You get pinch hit from. Well, I guess it was the next year but, like, that's your boy, right? Like, there's no one more excited for than Albert. He was such a great teammate, bro.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Like. Like, it's. It's. Gosh. Yeah. But anyways, you know, we're gonna do this goosebumps again. But, like, yeah, like, I. I always. Like, that's the most under. Underrated play. They walk you, right? Like, we. No offense. Like, we don't know what could happen if they don't walk you, right? Obviously, we all know what happens after they walk you. We got the shake. Wait, Patty whack down the third baseline. But. But, you know, like, and then the rest. And then even Miggy with the big.

[David Ross]

The.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Another big hit in the rest history, right? Like, yeah, but. Yeah, like, just to be able to be a part of that. I mean, I never thought in my life that one. Well, I did think because you dreamed about as a kid, like, you just got to live out your dream. And I did it in my first. It was even. I mean, I had a half year, and I was supposed to be my first full year, and I got that done right there. And I'm like, this is the best thing ever. Like, this thinking about the whole, you know, how we did it. You know, obviously, the personal things for me, the parade. Think about our group, you know, you retiring and how important you were to all of us. You know, like, Riz being the. The anchor of it all on the offensive side. Like, you know, I'm like, this is. How does it get any better? How does it get any better? And obviously, you know, for me personally, you know, I want to play full season one. One. That's, like, my goal now. I want to play full season one.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Still chasing that, right?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah. I want to play a full season, win one. I mean, I play for every year because that's all I know how to do. Thank goodness for you guys and some good teams I've been on. I've only missed playoffs one time.

[David Ross]

I know that's wild, and that's wild.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Wild 20, you know, like, my worst nightmare is going. I said, being late, but also going home on, like, September 31st and your season's done. Yeah, right. Like, that's. That's my worst nightmare, but this is how I got brought up. That's what we did. That's what we did in Chicago. We set that tone. You guys set that tone. Lester Lackey all set that tone. You know, Dex J. Hey, whoever was in that clubhouse, set that tone of. This is the expectation. This is what we're doing, and that's all I know. That's all I know how to do. That's only. That's the only way I know how to play the game. Because, you know, I don't play it for. I don't play it for the. The. The fame, fortune, whatever you want it to be like, I'm playing the win World Series. Because that's the best damn party we've ever been. Right. That's the best damn party we ever been.

[Anthony Rizzo]

That's. Once you get to that level. I got that in Boston. And once you get that was like, I don't want anything else.

[David Ross]

It's addicting to Dick. Winning is. Winning cures everything.

[Kyle Schwarber]

It cures it all.

[David Ross]

You know, everything in baseball you need cured.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I mean, you guys know how many people keep coming up to you.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

From 2010 years, 2016. And we're going to get that. We're going to get that for the rest of our lives. But, you know, I think it hits even more for that fact of, like, how important it was for the people that we were playing for. Sure.

[David Ross]

That's why it's so cool talking about this ten years later.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

Like, getting to share these stories. What really went into you coming back?

[Superhuman Podcast Host]

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the game and with the athletes.

[Kyle Schwarber]

For a full year, within probably 10 days, I'd put on £10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

[Superhuman Podcast Host]

Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Sam J]

Do you remember when Diana Ross double tapped little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people? I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got? Do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J.

[Alex English]

And I'm Alex English.

[Sam J]

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, including

[Alex English]

a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all

[Kyle Schwarber]

day, but yeah, yeah, but just so

[Alex English]

y' all know, I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line we

[Sam J]

also have AIDS on the table right now.

[Alex English]

So thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Really? Yeah.

[Alex English]

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

My mother in law spent years sabotaging our relationship until karma made her pay for it.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

Wait a minute, Dakota, how bad did

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

it it got bad enough that her son in law had to eventually arrest her himself. She moved in for two weeks, lasted for five. She left nail clippings in the bathtub, candy stuck to the furniture. And then she pressed her ear against the bedroom door and burst in screaming.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

She did not burst in while they were she did.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

They kicked her out and paid for her hotel and they thought it's finally over. Days later, she called her son in law at work claiming that his partner had been in some kind of freak accident and had been rushed to the hospital. Hospital in an ambulance. He called every hospital in the city and his partner was making coffee the entire time.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

She faked a medical emergency just to test whether or not he loved her son.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Yeah, and she sat in the hospital parking lot waiting for him to see if he would show up. When that didn't work, she walked into the son in law's police station and filed a kidnapping report against him.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

She filed a kidnapping report against him in his own police station.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Spoilers.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

Karma's gonna show up in the best way possible. So if you want to hear how this story ends, Search okay, story time on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you're listening to Podcasts.

[Reality with the King Host]

If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know that's a lot to break down.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Porsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a married man.

[Alex English]

They holding K Michelle back from fighting.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Drew Pinky has financial issues.

[David Ross]

I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's gonna be interesting.

[Reality with the King Host]

On the podcast Reality with the King I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the tea everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this at the end of the day when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more. Listen to Reality with the King on the IHEARTRADIO app, Apple podcast or wherever

[David Ross]

you get your podcast, you 10 years later now just signed a five year deal.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, I just appreciate you guys.

[David Ross]

You're, you're after that career, bro. Like you just last year, 162 games led the league. Led the league. 162.

[Kyle Schwarber]

That's all of them pretty easy.

[David Ross]

56 pumps led that National League. 132 RBIs led the National League. I think you let the league, unless judgy had you.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I got the, I had RBI lead last year.

[David Ross]

Yeah, yeah. 9:40, 950 ops.

[Kyle Schwarber]

That was a flex.

[David Ross]

It's, it's how you, it's how you developed in your career. And it's like every step of the way because I, I had watched you for afar for four years, five years. It was like, yeah, that's shorts. Like he's doing what he does, right? And in 19 you had that monster second half. You had like what, 20, 20 pumps in the second half something. Ended up with 38, 38 to 39 home runs. And to this day Ian Hap told me this stat. I don't know if you know this. There's only one left handed hitter to ever hit 40 home runs at Wrigley Field, Billy Williams. That stat is insane. Wrigley Field has been around for over 100 years. Right? So looking back now with you getting DFA by Chicago, which is insane, you know, off the 20, 20 year we

[Anthony Rizzo]

need to go and all the, and all the, and all the adverse. I mean there's adversity. We were talking about a lot of positives in your career, but like you've went through some shit too with the injuries, the dfa, the change of scenery, going and kind of going on this journey and taking what you've learned from your championship team. And you're young, like you said, giving your teammates a lot of credit, but turning yourself into that guy and having the, the career that you're continue to have. But it's pretty. If you average 32 home runs over the next five years, you'll have 500 home runs. You're currently at 340.

[David Ross]

You know that 340 checks. You hit 50 a year. Think about that.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I remember again, I love to put, I'll put some people in a stir,

[David Ross]

but I remember saying all the time, I'll never know my full potential playing at Wrigley Field because how, how brutal and psychological that wind is.

[Kyle Schwarber]

No, it's, it's crazy. I always tell people, I'm like, how many times I'VE stood there at the plate looking out there. When that wind tallying, I go, where's my hit?

[David Ross]

Especially with the shift.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, with the shift. Like the great walls out there.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I'm not hitting the ground ball. The third baseman.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Down the third base line.

[David Ross]

When the shift got hard.

[Kyle Schwarber]

That's hard to do.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Right.

[David Ross]

When the shift got taken away, I was like, you're going to be the number one person to benefit, which you have.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Your average benefited, Scott. The first year, I still hit 190. Somehow with. I'm like, I'm so excited. I'm so excited. The shift's gone 190. What the.

[David Ross]

Yeah, but you hit 50 that year, didn't you?

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah, I still. Yeah, I had a good year, like, on the other stuff, except the batting average side. But, yeah, it's been like, the whole, like. And I think it's. I always tell people, like, I would never change the way that my career has went. Like, obviously. Yeah. I always tell people I'm not a minor league grinder, you know, first rounder.

[David Ross]

You're a big league grinder.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Signed for. Sign for a lot of money, whatever it is. But had had my challenges and, you know, being. Feeling like on top of the mountain in 16. The. Being in AAA in 2017. Right. Like, after, I feel like I. Like, I just played two baseball games and now I can hit the best pitching in the world in the World Series and I'm in Triple A. And, you know, like, I always remember you telling me, like, I got sent down to Triple A and Riz is going. He goes, get back to work. And he goes, we'll see you right back. Like, it stuck with me right now. 2020. I'll be the first one, I always tell this. I go, I'll be the first one telling anyone that I freaking stunk in 60 games. Yeah, but I stunk. I stunk, I stunk.

[David Ross]

We all stunk.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I stunk. And, you know, you telling me, you call me and going, hey, change of. Sweetie. Sometimes not a bad thing. Yeah, hard. Hard pill to swallow. Yeah, hard pill to swallow.

[Anthony Rizzo]

It's not released or like, I didn't release you, but, like, sweet. That's the worst. Yeah, it's your boys.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Hard pill to swallow, but at the end of the day, it was the best thing to happen in my career. Yeah, like, you know, I. You don't know what you don't know.

[David Ross]

True.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Don't know what you don't know. Right. Like, I knew Chicago, I knew the organization, I knew the people I knew the, the, the ins and outs of it. And I knew that, you know, you're. I always, Everyone always asks about like 16 and do you have any regrets about not wanting anything more? I'm like, you're just discrediting the World Series in the first place. Like, don't discredit it. But second off, like, we brought meaningful baseball there for how many years? Like, we turned that off. That group brought meaningful baseball to Chicago for how many years? So, no, there's no regrets. It's hard to win. It's hard to win. And you know, going on the personal side and it's like, okay, I'm out of here. I, I'm leaving this organization that all we've done is great things. I'm going into the great unknown and you know, luckily ended up in Washington with where Davey, who was our bench coach, got with a really good heading coach and there in K Long, who's still my heading coach. And you know, like, a lot of different things have happened and like, it just, it changed my career and I needed it. Right? I needed that. And you know, I always. It's not like I'm saying, screw you, Chicago. No, like, Chicago's at the base of it all where that's where I learned how to be the big leaguer, how to, you know, take it on the chin, how to try, how to bounce back, you know, how to be a champion, how to be a great teammate, how to be, you know, someone that can be ear to listen or someone that can, you know, give hard love when they need hard love, you know, or heck, come up to the room and let's get some late night McDonald's, right? Like, whatever it is, like, that's where I learned it all. And yes, I went through my challenges and then I've come out on the other side. I've been better for it. Like, I needed to go through that process. And, you know, where that all starts is, like I said, it's with you guys. And I can't thank all of our teammates that we've had enough. All of our coaching staff, all of our, you know, you know, Joe and you know, Rossi manager were like, I'm the player I am today. A lot of. Because what I experienced at a young age and I can relate now I can be that guy that can relate to a lot of different people. I can relate to a lot of different people. And I think that's such a big thing to have is being able to relate to dudes and feeling like you said that they're not on an island. Because I've experienced it.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Well, that's why we're doing this, is to tell all these stories. And, like, personally, I want to thank you for who you are, and it's been fun to watch. And.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[Anthony Rizzo]

How you've taken off and we still got the bump after games, he goes deep in the wbc, so we get to chew it in the locker room. What are these. What are these guys doing?

[David Ross]

But, yeah, something you just said about, well, you didn't get traded, you got dfa. But then you got traded. You. When you got traded or DFA or whatever it was.

[Anthony Rizzo]

DFA'd.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

You had a similar story coming to Jesus moment.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Right.

[David Ross]

With Theo.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Theo. Theo told me. We'll tell that story in Theo's episode. But it's same, like, told me I was a bad teammate and. Or that my reputation in Cincinnati. I was a bad teammate and selfish.

[David Ross]

I was, like, shocked when he told me that.

[Anthony Rizzo]

You know, like, it's just, you know, but the truth sometimes just like, okay, I took that and. And it's on us, right? It's our careers. And, you know, I got DFA, and I'm sitting at home waiting on those 10 days to go by. And during the season, so, you know, similar, like. But the adversity made me better, and I was. I never wanted that said about me ever again. And so, like, that was one of

[David Ross]

the better moments, looking back.

[Anthony Rizzo]

No doubt.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I think.

[Anthony Rizzo]

No doubt. When I wouldn't be the person. Just as like we said, you wouldn't have the career you had. Same. And all the stuff that. That has happened to us, the adversity is what make us better.

[David Ross]

When I got traded to New York, it was like, whoa, right? And then I'm going to, you know, in Chicago, like, fair. Not from basically day one, it was like, I was. I was the guy, Right. It was me and Starling Castro. Sorry. Was there. There's a couple other guys. So I grew up fast with veterans and all this, but, you know, guys were coming into, quote, unquote, my team, and we stunk. So it was like getting traded was. I really started realizing, holy, dude. Like, these guys, like, guys watching every move, like. Like the aha moment of, like, how much I grew getting traded. And you saying that, too, with, like, what you learned. Same thing what you learned in Chicago. And then taking it has now gotten you to literally, like, bro, you. I mean, you're on your way. I'll say it for you. You're on the way to being a Hall of Fame baseball player. Which is insane.

[Kyle Schwarber]

You.

[David Ross]

You post. You hit home runs, you drive in runs. You are post season legend. You're going to win another World Series at some point.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Yeah.

[David Ross]

Like, I hope so.

[Anthony Rizzo]

And first, the wbc.

[Kyle Schwarber]

WBC gold medal. I need. I need. I need some redemption.

[David Ross]

What they give out or what you do and your reputation is game like you're blue collar. You're in a perfect city. You know, those fans are so rugged, right? And you just embrace it. And you're a Kyle Schwaber baseball player. That's what you are. Reinder puts your heart and soul into everything and everyone around you. And it's so much fun watching you have all your success.

[Kyle Schwarber]

I appreciate it. And like I always say, like, you know, like you said about Philly, right? Like, why in the way I am, right? Like, you know, Philly can be rugged, right? Like, you can tell me I stink, but I'm going to be the first one to tell you I stink. You're not telling me anything I don't know, Right? But I'm able to do that and I'm able to learn because of what we all went through and what you guys gave me, the experiences I had, you know, like you laughing at me, you know, you giving me construction, constructive criticism, you know, like, it's. Is what it is, man. It's just like, you know, I'm just lucky I. I get to play baseball. You know, thank goodness I don't have to play left field that much anymore. Get to go hit them more. Go hit baseballs. But, yeah, when you say, like, you started all 160, I'm like, it's pretty easy as a DH. Just can't blow anything out while you're running or swinging. But. But yeah, you know, I. I'm forever grateful to everyone that, you know, there's obviously a special. You know, there's so many special people that we had, and you two are two really big people in my career that. Yeah, man.

[David Ross]

Yeah.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Don't.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yeah. Yeah. You're welcome.

[David Ross]

You're welcome.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Please. Thank you. Yeah, man. I appreciate the hell out of you guys. You guys are the best. We love you.

[David Ross]

Where we've gone in this, talking to a bunch of guys now is like, we just talked about how much every single guy meant to that 2016 roster. Literally. We're not winning without everyone in that organization. I mean, we can even go to, like, Theo Epstein having the ball balls to say, yes, you're starting, right? Like, that's a major decision by the top of the top, right, Theo, Tom and like, without every single one in our organization, without you rehabbing the way

[Anthony Rizzo]

you did, working your ass.

[David Ross]

We're not. We're not telling. We're not sitting here 10 years later telling this story.

[Kyle Schwarber]

So yeah, I mean, we love you.

[David Ross]

Thank you.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Love you.

[Anthony Rizzo]

Yes. And that is Kyle Schwarber, people. That is a rap.

[Kyle Schwarber]

God damn. I got my dad. I got my.

[Superhuman Podcast Host]

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the Enhanced games. Some call it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast is Superhuman. Documented it all embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

[Superhuman Podcast Host]

Listen to Superhuman on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

My mother in law spent years sabotaging our relationship until karma made her pay for it.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

All right, Sophia, tell me about how we started this story.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

She moved in for two weeks, lasted five days, left a mess, and then pressed her ear against their bedroom do and burst in screaming. When kicked out to a hotel, she called her son in law's workplace, pretending his partner had been rushed to the hospital by ambulance.

[OK Storytime Podcast Co-host]

She faked a medical emergency.

[OK Storytime Podcast Host]

And spoiler, that was just the beginning. To find out how it ends, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Reality with the King Host]

If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know that's a lot to break down.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Portia accusing Kelly of sleeping with a married man.

[Alex English]

They holding K. Michelle back from fighting.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Drew Pinky has financial issues on the

[Reality with the King Host]

podcast Reality with the King. I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances and the tea everybody's talking about. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the king on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[Joey Dardano]

I'm Joey Dardano and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions.

[Kyle Schwarber]

Psych.

[Joey Dardano]

I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. This is help from a Hypocrite. The worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.