Kyle Schwarber caused the Budweiser sign to partially lose power during Wednesday’s batting practice at Wrigley Field.
Move over Giancarlo Stanton, you’re not the only one that can do damage to your own stadium’s signage. Chicago Cubs slugger Kyle Schwarber proved this point on Wednesday, as he knocked out some of the power to the Budweiser sign over the right field video wall.
During batting practice ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with the Cincinnati Reds, Schwarber took out his frustrations on the fairly new video wall. It wasn’t addressed until mid-game, when Cubs’ announcer Len Kasper made mention that it happened earlier in the day.
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It’s not the first time Schwarber has mangled a ball into the bleacher depths of the Friendly Confines. As the historic 2016 season was closing down, he belted one that stayed on top of the sign, and it stayed there until Spring Training began earlier this year. In fact, the ball itself wasn’t even located by Wrigley Field crew members until a couple of days AFTER he hit that home run.
While his batting average is barely at the .220 mark heading into Wednesday’s game, his bat has come around the last few games. And it’s much needed, with the Cubs trying to repeat last year’s storybook ending. So they will gladly welcome more of those towering fly balls, provided they at least stay in regular season format.
Maybe Schwarber doesn’t like Budweiser; maybe he likes another brand of beer; maybe he doesn’t drink at all. But as long as he continues to place home runs in that fashion, he can knock out any part of the scoreboard he pleases. I’m sure manager Joe Maddon will have no problem with that.
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As noted, he had a slow start to the season. But now that he’s surpassed the 20 home run mark on the season, maybe his production will help the team get back into first place.