Bobby Witt Jr. plays key role in Kansas City Royals’ win over Rangers on dad’s birthday
Both on Tuesday and Wednesday, there was a substantial buzz when Bobby Witt Jr. was introduced to the crowd at Globe Life Field.
Despite him leading off for the visiting ballclub, the former Texas prep standout is one half of a famous father-son baseball tandem with strong roots in the area. After all, he’d risen to national prominence and been selected as the No. 2 overall pick in the MLB Draft before he’d even put the finishing touches on a state championship for nearby Colleyville Heritage High School.
The Gatorade national high school player of the year, Witt drew comparisons coming out of high school to other baseball phenoms such as Alex Rodriguez and Chipper Jones.
Add to that the fact that his father spent 11 seasons playing for the Rangers, and Witt might be as much a fan favorite as any current Rangers’ player.
“A good win and got a knock, which is nice,” Witt said after the Royals 8-2 victory over the Rangers. “It was seeing Whit (Merrifield) doing what Whit does and getting back going. It was just a fun game, a lot of fun.”
In his second game in front of his home state fans, Witt doubled and drove in three runs after spending the early portion of the day celebrating Bobby Witt Sr.’s 58th birthday with his parents and grandparents.
“It’s always great to be able to play with friends, family and a lot of people here in front of you and be able to live out my dream,” Witt Jr. said. “To be able to, not give back to them, but to see them out supporting it makes me feel so loved. It’s hard to have a bad day when you have all those supporters with you.”
Selected as the No. 1 prospect in professional baseball by MLBPipeline.com and Baseball Prospectus and rated a top-three prospect according to Baseball America, FanGraphs.com and ESPN.com, Witt Jr. has started 27 games in his first five weeks in the big leagues.
He snapped an 0-for-8 stretch with his third-inning double that drove in two runs and gave the Royals a 3-0 lead. That represented his first hit as a major-leaguer in Texas. It was also Witt Jr.’s first multi-RBI game since April 10.
“It’s always tough playing in front of your family and friends when you come home for the first time, for any player — let alone one that’s been talked about so much and that a whole area and region knows about him,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said.
“To be able to come through in a big situation, we needed those runs bad. He’s been taking some good swings. I know he’s not getting the production that he wants right now, but it’s going to come.”
Witt Jr. drove in another run in the seventh on a fielder’s choice to get a runner in from third base.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 9:31 AM.
