Kyle Schwarber home run lands on video board; Cubs to keep it there

CHICAGO -- The Cubs will leave a home run ball hit by rookie Kyle Schwarber in their NLDS-clinching win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday on top of the right-field video scoreboard -- where the ball landed -- for the duration of the postseason.

"It's the first year of the video scoreboards; it's the first year the Cubs have ever clinched at home; and it's the first time someone has hit a ball up there," Cubs spokesman Julian Green said Wednesday morning.

Schwarber, 22, has hit three postseason home runs, including Tuesday's monster shot in the seventh inning that traveled 438 feet, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The ball settled on top of the right-field video scoreboard, which was erected just before this season. In past years, the ball would have traveled onto the street below.

The Cubs encased the ball in Plexiglas to protect it from the elements, and the team said it will retrieve it after the postseason concludes. They haven't decided whether they'll do something special with the ball or just give it back to Schwarber.

Seven Cubs players hit home runs against the Cardinals, tying a division series record. The Cubs' 10 home runs was one shy of the record for a best-of-five playoff series.