A REALTOR® is always a good person to have on your team, and Cubs all-star Kyle Schwarber must have known that when he chose Michael Sinicola—a real estate professional with The K Company Realty in Tampa—as his pitcher for Monday night’s Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. Schwarber had the most total home runs this year at 55 (the second most in Derby history) and set a new semifinal record of 21 runs, but he was just shy of the grand title in the finals.
Real estate pro Sinicola was a former baseball player in college. He has thrown pitches during batting practice with Schwarber in Tampa during the offseason for the past three years. When Schwarber found out he was selected to participate in the Derby, he said he instantly texted Sinicola asking him to pitch at the big event. “He was really pumped, he was excited,” Schwarber told ESPN.
It was Schwarber’s first-ever Major League Baseball Home Run Derby. He hit 18 home runs in the final, but Washington Nationals’ Bryce Harper beat Schwarber for the champion title with 19 home runs.
Source:
“Olney: Sluggers Prep for the Home Run Derby,” ESPN.com (July 15, 2018) and “Middletown’s Schwarber Hits Home Run Derby Semifinal Record 21, Falls to Harper in Final,” Cincinnati Enquirer (July 17, 2018)
