Fastball

Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals Makes Baseball History Multiple Times on Friday

The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins on Friday thanks to some historic heroics from Bobby Witt Jr.

Brady Farkas

Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals Makes Baseball History Multiple Times on Friday
Bobby Witt Jr. of the Kansas City Royals Makes Baseball History Multiple Times on Friday /
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The Kansas City Royals beat the Minnesota Twins 8-5 on Friday night.

The extra-inning win was secured thanks to a walk-off grand slam for Royals youngster Bobby Witt Jr.

The home run was impressive on multiple fronts and made or joined baseball history in multiple ways.

Per @OptaSTATS on Twitter:

Bobby Witt Jr. of the @Royals is the youngest player in MLB history to hit a walkoff grand slam with his team trailing in extra innings.

The 23-year-old Witt was one of the most hyped prospects in baseball when he debuted in 2022. His follow-up season has been impressive for the woeful Royals also. He's hitting .257 with 17 homers, 57 RBI and 29 stolen bases. He's posted a .747 OPS.

What made the home run even more amazing on Friday was the fact that it came off of flamethrower Jhoan Duran.

Per ESPN Stats & Info:

Bobby Witt Jr. hit a walk-off grand slam to win the game for the Royals. He is the 3rd player to hit a walk-off HR off of a pitch 100+ MPH in the Statcast Era (since 2015), joining Jeimer Candelario (2018) and Jed Lowrie (2021).

Duran is the hardest thrower in baseball and was recently clocked at 105 mph in a game against the Seattle Mariners.

The Royals are now 30-75 and in last place in the American League Central. The loss was critical for Minnesota, who is now 54-51 and has lost three straight.

They only lead the Cleveland Guardians by 1.5 games in the division.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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