KC Royals players gave Bobby Witt Jr. a special celebration — with a purpose behind it
The 21-year-old man whose teammates and manager still call a kid walked down the dugout steps at Kauffman Stadium, drenched in the water from a cooler. The crowd kept alive the chant of his first name — Bob-by! Bob-by! — same as they’d done before he ever took the bat off his shoulder in a major-league box.
Bobby Witt Jr. delivered the game-winning hit in the eighth inning of the Royals’ 3-1 victory on Opening Day, the kind of moment he had pictured a couple thousand times before it arrived Thursday. And the aftermath lived up to the anticipation.
Until he stepped inside the clubhouse.
The man — or kid — of the afternoon to the outside world is still a rookie inside these walls. And so when he arrived in the clubhouse, his teammates were waiting.
They placed Witt in one of the room’s large laundry baskets, rolled it into the kitchen and doused him with whatever they could find. Beer showers are the way of yesterday. On Thursday, Bud Lights were replaced by Shatto milk, Gatorade, water, mustard and ketchup.
“Welcome to the show, kid,” teammate Whit Merrifield deadpanned.
There’s a purpose to the ritual, beyond a few veterans’ enjoyment. How do you keep the No. 1 prospect in baseball from constantly feeling the hype of being the No. 1 prospect in baseball?
You remind him he’s a rookie.
Remind him that despite delivering the biggest sequence of his life Thursday, he’s still the guy responsible for carrying the boom box around in the clubhouse.
“Ya’ll’s job is to hype him up,” Merrifield said. “Our job is to keep him grounded.”
As dangerous as it might be to form conclusions from Opening Day, this much is real: The buzz surrounding Witt is something the Royals will have to deal with.
Deliberately.
On Thursday, the crowd supplied Witt a standing ovation as he was announced for his first at-bat, hitting No. 2 in the lineup — which he concluded with a flyout to right field. Two hitters later, catcher Salvador Perez walked to the plate to a mild applause. Yes, the Salvador Perez that tied for the major-league lead with 48 home runs a year ago. An afterthought, almost.
“There was a different feel (in the ballpark) — a lot of buzz,” second baseman Nicky Lopez said. “Might’ve been the guy who was hitting second.”
The Royals aren’t ignoring any of that. They’re coaching it. They’ll have to. Because the hype is more likely to escalate than evaporate.
For weeks now, the Royals have been sure Witt would make the Opening Day roster, waiting to publicize it as they strategize how to coach the person as much as the player. The talent is obvious. So far, they’ve been impressed with the mental approach to the game, too.
Merrifield and manager Mike Matheny talked of expecting Witt to come through in that final plate appearance — a runner on second, one out and a tie game. They’ve long figured out no moment would be too big. Witt said he anticipating feeling nerves at some point, but they just never came.
But the moments will get bigger.
The response from inside the clubhouse will need to adapt accordingly — or, rather, stay on course.
“We’re going to continue to be able to help him — because there’s going to be a lot of attention, and rightfully so, when he has things like this happen,” Matheny said. “There are going to be opportunities for more distractions, but he just stays focused on what he’s going to do to help our team and help us win.”
A good start.
Zack Greinke returned to a Royals uniform, the Opening Day starting pitcher, and reminded Kansas City of his artistry. The Royals played baseball for the first time in half a year.
And Witt stole the show. He has played one Major League Baseball game, and the baseball preserved from it will be the one that drove in the game-winning run. In a season opener. With the crowd on its feet.
But, you know, the rookie thing.
“He’s really good,” Greinke said. “I don’t want to be over the top with any comments at the moment.”