Aug 28, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber rounds the bases after his fourth home run of the game against the Atlanta Braves at Citizens Bank Park. (Grace Del Pizzo/On Pattison)
As expected, Kyle Schwarber finished runner-up to Los Angeles Dodgers' two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani in NL MVP voting:
Kyle Schwarber finished runner-up in NL MVP voting. Trea Turner finished fifth. Shohei Ohtani is only the second player in MLB history to win MVP four times, with Barry Bonds still having the most at seven. pic.twitter.com/YpKXiS03H0
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) November 14, 2025
In his best season to date, Schwarber clubbed an NL-best 56 home runs — two shy of Ryan Howard's single-season franchise record of 58 — while leading all of baseball with 132 RBIs. The .928 OPS that Schwarber finished the season with was fifth among all players in the sport, trailing only Aaron Judge (1.144), Ohtani (1.014), George Springer (.959) and Cal Raleigh (.948).
Still, it was Ohtani who was a pretty obvious pick for NL MVP.
Just as a DH, Ohtani led all senior circuit players in runs scored (146), slugging percentage (.622), OPS (1.014), OPS+ (179), intentional walks (20) and total bases (380).
Ohtani also returned to pitching for the first time since having his second major elbow surgery in September of 2023. He posted a 2.87 ERA over 47 innings pitched, which isn't an especially large sample size, but still a pretty remarkable accomplishment for someone that was arguably the best offensive player in the NL.
This is Ohtani's third consecutive MVP, and second in as many seasons in the NL with the Dodgers. The 31-year-old has now won four MVP Awards between the AL and NL. He's just the second player in MLB history to win four MVPs, with Barry Bonds the only other at seven. Bonds' seven MVPs once seemed untouchable, but if anyone is going to ever have a shot to match it, it's Ohtani.
As for Schwarber, finishing second is an incredible accomplishment for someone who hadn't previously posted a top-14 finish in his career. Having such a great walk season and a reputation as one of the best leaders in baseball are major reasons why Schwarber figures to get a very lucrative contract in free agency, whether it's from the Phillies or someone else.
Bryce Harper remains the last Phillie to win NL MVP, having done so in 2021. Schwarber is the first Phillie to finish runner-up in NL MVP voting since the aforementioned Howard did so in 2008, with Albert Pujols taking home the honor that season.
