Oct. 19--NEW YORK -- Kyle Schwarber stood in front of his locker in the visitors clubhouse of Citi Field after the Cubs' loss Saturday night to the Mets when a local reporter asked if his hand was OK.
"That was (Anthony) Rizzo," Schwarber politely said, correcting the reporter who had mistaken him for the Cubs first baseman.
If Schwarber continues to crush baseballs at his current pace, he won't have to worry about anyone confusing him with Rizzo -- or anyone else.
The rookie entered Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday with four postseason home runs, including one in three consecutive games to tie Alex Gonzalez's 2003 franchise playoff record. Schwarber had compiled 20 total bases, breaking the club mark of 19 shared by Gonzalez and Mark Grace (1989).
"A guy like Kyle, man, personality along with talent, it's very impressive to watch on a nightly basis," catcher David Ross said. "And the stage isn't too big for him. You see it over and over again."
Schwarber hit a ball out of PNC Park in the wild-card game, added a monster shot on top of the Wrigley Field video board in Game 4 of the division series and smashed a 459-foot home run to right-center off Matt Harvey in Game 1 of the NLCS for the longest home run of the postseason.
Schwarber seemed almost apologetic for hitting one off Harvey, who had dominated the Cubs most of the night.
"He probably knew he was getting toward the end of his outing and left a heater up out (over the plate)," Schwarber said. "I took advantage of it and hit it."
Sitting Schwarber on occasion during the final month has seemingly paid off after he struggled with a .208 average and .389 slugging percentage in his final 22 games.
"September was that extra month he's never played before," manager Joe Maddon said. "We backed off a lot and gave him his days off. The rest helped a little bit. I'm certain he loves this time of year and responds to it."
After going 0-for-4 with three strikouts Sunday, Schwarber is hitting .381 (8-for-21) in seven postseason games with a team-leading six RBIs and a .952 slugging percentage.
It may be remembered as the best postseason of any Cubs hitter, or at least right up there with Grace's performance in the 1989 NLCS against the Giants, in which he hit .647.
The Cubs trail the Mets 2-0, but Schwarber wasn't down after Game 2.
"It's baseball, it's a crazy game," he said. We've just got to find a way back. It's been good baseball, it's playoff baseball. This is what you're in for. It's a lot of fun to play in, and we're still going to be confident in ourselves."
Schwarber has been having fun all the way through his wild ride. Maddon said the rookie "doesn't take himself too seriously," which was apparent Saturday when Schwarber was asked if it was cold.
"Once you're out there for a little bit and your ears finally get frozen, everything else is fine," he replied.
The Cubs received some criticism for picking Schwarber with the No. 4 pick in the 2014 draft. The consensus was he would be a late first-round selection.
But area scout Stan Zielinski got to know him, and when President Theo Epstein and player personnel chief Jason McLeod got a chance to watch him play, they were convinced Schwarber's bat and personality trumped any preconceived notions.
"If we really get to know these high school and college players as people, we can maybe pick the ones with the right character," Epstein said. "If we take a really sophisticated look at their track records, maybe we can understand what that means better than a competing organization.
"If we get the best scouts and put them in the right position to be at the right game against the best competition, maybe our scouts will write a little better report than the other organization. And if you combine all those things together, maybe you can increase your odds of being right from 50/50 to 51/49.
"And if you do that enough over and over again, you're going to start to make decisions that get you headed in the right direction. Schwarber is a good example."
