DYERSVILLE – When then-Chicago Cubs star Kyle Schwarber was optioned back to the minor leagues during the 2017 season, the slugger quickly went back to work.
Schwarber arrived in Des Moines to report to the Iowa Cubs while the team was coming back from a road trip. He showed up to a mostly empty park to get some swings in.
Prior to every game of what turned into an 11-game tenure back in Triple-A, Schwarber arrived long before the rest of his teammates, getting in extra swings before batting practice with then-Cubs minor-league hitting coordinator Andy Haines.
“We were out there every single day trying to figure it out, grind it out,” Schwarber said in an interview with The Des Moines Register prior to his team’s Aug. 13 game against the Minnesota Twins at the Field of Dreams Movie Site.
The hard work eventually paid off. Schwarber returned to the major leagues. And while the Cubs eventually non-tendered Schwarber, he credits that short stint back in Des Moines with helping get his career back on track. He has become one of the most powerful hitters in all of baseball.
“I always tell everyone, in my career, I wouldn’t change a single thing on how my career went because it’s been special to me and that doesn’t come with successes and it doesn’t come without failures,” Schwarber said. “I think that’s the best about it is just being able to learn from every different experience and be better for it.”
Schwarber’s carer has been full of memorable moments. A first-round pick by the Cubs in 2014, Schwarber rapidly rose through the minor leagues and made his big-league debut the following season. Despite missing most of the 2016 season with an injury, his potent bat made a return in the World Series and helped the Cubs win their first championship in 108 years.
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But Schwarber’s ride to the top didn’t last long. After struggling to start the 2017 season, he was sent back to Des Moines where Chicago's Triple-A affiliate is located. Schwarber didn’t sulk. Instead, he worked hours on his swing, getting back into a rhythm before being called back up. It was a career-changing demotion for Schwarber, a potential Hall of Famer who has 375 career home runs.
“I think that was a pretty big part of it because I was able to pull myself out of it,” Schwarber said. “I think experience is always key in a lot of different things, to be able to experience something, get through it.”
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Kyle Schwarber credits brief return to Iowa for helping his career