Looking back on it now, five magical seasons later, even Dave Dombrowski had to laugh.After all, on that fateful day, back in March of 2022, when he and the Phillies first signed Kyle Schwarber as a free agent, they had no idea what they’d just done — because how could they possibly have had any idea they’d just added …· Babe Ruth! And …· A man who would transform their franchise. Oh, and also …· One of the best free-agent hitters ever.“We thought he’d be a guy that could hit us 35 to 40 home runs (a year), right?” Dombrowski said of Schwarber this week, a couple of days after his favorite DH had just made history – again. “I mean, he’s had that type of power. But …”The Phillies’ president of baseball operations let out a chuckle.“But you don’t sign him,” Dombrowski said, “and say, ‘Oh, he’s going to hit 60 home runs.’”Well, here we are, in the last week of June in 2026 — and it’s time to fire up the 60-homer watch, because Schwarber is on pace to make a run at that benchmark. Sound familiar? It should. We’ve seen this major motion picture before.Schwarber has already bombarded the ballparks of North America with 29 home runs this season. As recently as last summer, he reached the all-star break with 30.Can we assume he’ll hit one more? If he does, he’d become only the fifth hitter ever to reach 30 at the break in back-to-back years. The other four are all legendary mashers: Aaron Judge, Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr. and Sammy Sosa.The difference between them and Schwarber? Only Schwarber first came to his team as a free agent. And if you keep reading, you’re going to stumble upon that concept again.That’s because, the more I’ve thought about this and looked at this, the more convinced I am — that Kyle J. Schwarber ranks way, way up there on the list of the best free-agent sluggers ever signed by any team.I’ve looked at them all, from every possible angle: Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Shohei Ohtani, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Reggie Jackson, Vladimir Guerrero (the original), Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Rafael Palmeiro, Larry Walker, Cecil Fielder, Jim Thome, Mark Teixeira, Andre Dawson, Kirk Gibson. You can even throw Nelson Cuz and Mark Trumbo in there, plus two men from Schwarber’s ’22 free-agent class — Freddie Freeman and Corey Seager.Pick whatever fun name you’d like. I don’t think I’ve missed anybody. Here is where Schwarber fits among them:216 HR IN HIS FIRST FIVE SEASONS — Does that seem like a lot? You’d be smart to vote yes. That’s because it happens to be the most home runs hit by any free agent in his first five seasons with any new team. Palmeiro bashed 214 in his first five seasons in Texas. Ortiz bopped 208 in his first five seasons with the Red Sox. Bonds smoked 198 in his first five years with the Giants.Schwarber has charged past all of them — and still has half a season to go. If he reaches 50 homers again this season, he’ll even roar by Babe Ruth for the most home runs by any hitter in his first five seasons with any team, no matter how they got there.TWO HOME RUN TITLES AND HEADING FOR A THIRD — Schwarber led his league in homers in his first season with the Phillies, in 2022 (with 46). He led again last year (with 56). He’s No. 1 in the National League again this season. That puts him in this company:Won 2+ HR titles with a new team after signing as a free agent:A-Rod, Rangers – 3