Junior’s journey: Kansas City Royals phenom Bobby Witt Jr. reflects on rookie season
Bobby Witt Jr.’s year began when a group of Kansas City Royals veterans, led by star catcher Salvador Perez, welcomed him to the big leagues and told him that he belonged.
By the season’s end, Witt had proved that to himself — and everyone else — beyond any doubt.
Witt, who turned 22 in June, came into this season rated as MLB.com’s top prospect and as a consensus top-three prospect by Baseball America, FanGraphs.com and BaseballProspectus.com.
Of course, Witt said in March that the “prospect label” meant he hadn’t done anything yet.
Well, that can’t be said about Witt now. Witt was one of four Royals who remained on the active roster for the entire season.
He played in 150 games (148 starts), put himself in elite company and learned valuable lessons about his ability to match-up against major leaguers, how to get his body through the grind of the season as well as how to handle some of the mental pitfalls that come with playing on the game’s biggest stage.
“I think the biggest thing is just knowing that I’m capable of playing at this level,” Witt told The Star during the Royals’ final homestand of the season. “I don’t have to do any more, do any less, just try to perform at this level. Knowing that what I have, I don’t have to do more. I can just go out there and be me and be okay with that.”
It would be easy to write off Witt’s ability to compete at the major-league level as a given. After all, he’d been the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, invited to major-league spring training 2.0 in 2020 and the Minor League Player of the Year in 2021.
Before his debut, KC icons such as Hall of Famer George Brett, Alex Gordon and Perez — players considered Royals royalty — each vouched for Witt’s impending stardom.
But no endorsement takes the place of actually being in games.
“I think I learned a lot, whether it was through failure or just through experience,” Witt said. It’s been a great experience. I’ve loved every moment of it. The guys have been great to me. So I’ve just had a lot of fun.”
Rookie season results
Witt finished the season with a .254 batting average, .294 on-base percentage and a .428 slugging percentage for a slash line fairly similar to another Royals No. 2 overall draft pick who’d been highly touted, decorated and anticipated.
Gordon slashed .247/.314/.411 as a 23-year-old rookie in 151 games in 2007.
Witt led all rookies in the majors in extra-base hits (57), RBIs (80) and stolen bases (30). He also ranked among the rookie leaders in doubles (31, second), triples (six, second), total bases (253, second), hits (150, second), runs scored (82, third) and home runs (20, third).
He joined Barry Bonds (1987), Álex Rodríguez (1998), Mike Trout (2012, 2013) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019) as the only players 22 or younger with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season.
Witt’s 57 extra-base hits set a Royals rookie record, surpassing both Carlos Beltrán and Kevin Seitzer. His 150 hits are the second-most in franchise history by a Royals player in a first season, behind only Eric Hosmer’s 153 hits in 2011.
Witt showed a high tendency to strike out, with 135 strikouts to 30 walks. Witt also showed a tendency to strike out while adjusting to new levels in the minors, but he improved in that regard over time.
Defensively, he played both third base (50 starts) and shortstop (96 starts). He made some extraordinary highlight-reel plays, including spectacular game changing plays with his glove and arm.
However, he also committed 16 errors at shortstop and 19 total errors. MLB Statcast data registered Witt at -9 outs above average at shortstop. Houston Astros rookie Jeremy Pena recorded 7 outs above average, 11th-best among shortstops.
Royals brass has expressed confidence that Witt has improved and will continue to improve defensively, pointing out that third base was a new position for him and he shifted to shortstop mid-season after Adalberto Mondesi’s injury.
Physical and emotional maturity
There aren’t any readily-available statistics to quantify the impact of Witt learning how to navigate the daily grind of the majors.
Witt had to establish a routine, learn when he needed to get early pregame work on the field, when he needed to rest, and find the line between playing through pain and being injured.
Witt missed games with a hamstring injury that raised warranted concerns and necessitated missed games, though he avoided the injured list.
But he dealt with other physical issues that kept under the radar. Multiple times he came out of games after being hit in the hand by pitches that caused swelling and may have impacted his swing.
There were shin splints that popped up when he played on artificial surfaces and affected his mobility. The All-Star break provided him a needed recovery time and a chance to catch a second wind.
The mental grind also provided unique challenges.
During a podcast interview late in the summer, Witt recounted an anecdote about riding the team bus away from the new Texas Rangers’ ballpark in Arlington, Texas, about 20 minutes away from his home.
The image of that ballpark and the former ballpark across the street, where he spent many days growing up watching games with friends, served as a rejuvenating moment for Wit and a reminder that “this is the game that I grew up loving and playing.”
“Yes, it’s my job, but it’s the greatest job in the world,” Witt said. “So I’ve got to just go out there and do what I did when I was playing baseball and was 8 years old. Just go have fun. You’ve got to put your work in and everything, but when I’m playing at my best is whenever I’m playing with joy.”
Witt didn’t truly appreciate how that childlike enthusiasm could temporarily get away from him.
“Sometimes it’s the results,” Witt said. “You get caught up in results. Some things may not be going well. You’re not winning games. You’re not performing well. That can drag on. You’ve got to get your body right whenever it’s feeling a little down, get some treatment here and there and just get yourself as ready as possible each and every day.”
Witt appears to deal with attention and pressure as if it never fazes him, but he did find himself pressing at times.
That could have been the result of his desire to win, or feeling he needed to do his part. Nonetheless, the rookie phenom had to learn how trying to do too much affected his play.
“I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself to do more, do more, do more,” Witt said. “When really, I just need to do less. Just go out and play and keep learning.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
