Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. hit a historic home run that flew under the radar Friday
When Royals Stadium opened on April 10, 1973, John Mayberry hit the first home run in the franchise’s new ballpark.
Since that night, the ballpark was been renamed as Kauffman Stadium, and the Royals have won a pair of World Series championships. And they are currently searching for a new home, so their days at Kauffman Stadium are numbered.
Through the years, many incredible players have called the ballpark their home. Those names include George Brett, Amos Otis, Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon and Bobby Witt Jr.
The latter hit a significant home run Friday night in the Royals’ game against the Detroit Tigers.
Witt clubbed a 442-foot home run off Casey Mize in the first inning with the ball landing in the water in left-center field.
Only later did we learn that it was the 3,000th home run to be hit by a Kansas City player in the history of Royals/Kauffman Stadium. That’s according to Ian Kraft, the Royals’ assistant director of media relations, who shared that fact a few hours after Witt’s blast.
Even though the ball landed in the water, the Royals said they were able to fish it out, and it’s headed for the team’s hall of fame.
That wasn’t the only noteworthy accomplishment of the night.
In the third inning, Royals catcher Salvador Perez hit a double, which was the 300th of his career. He’s only the sixth player in Royals history to reach that milestone.
This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 10:03 PM.
