Fastball

KC Royals Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. Does Something Never Done in Franchise History

The shortstop has now won both the Gold Glove Award and the Silver Slugger Award.

Brady Farkas

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) takes the field before the game against the New York Yankees during game three of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium on Oct 9.
Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) takes the field before the game against the New York Yankees during game three of the NLDS for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Kauffman Stadium on Oct 9. / Jay Biggerstaff -Imagn Images
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Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. captured his first-ever Silver Slugger Award on Tuesday, earning the honor at shortstop in the American League.

With his win, he beat out Marcus Semien (Texas Rangers) and Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles).

It was a banner year for the 24-year-old, who also hit .332 to win the American League batting title. He had 32 homers, 109 RBI and 45 doubles, leading the majors in hits with 211. He added 31 stolen bases.

Since making his debut in the 2022 season, Witt Jr. is a .288 hitter. He's got 82 home runs and 110 stolen bases and has established himself as one of the best all-around players in baseball. He also helped lead the Royals to the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Kansas City finished second in the American League Central, beating the Orioles in the wild card round before falling to the New York Yankees in the ALDS.

With his victory, Witt Jr. also made history on multiple fronts. The following comes from a
press release by the Royals that was put out after the finalists were announced:

Witt Jr., who was a finalist in 2023, would be the first Royals shortstop to win a Silver Slugger Award.

Witt Jr. was named a Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner for the first time last night. If he wins the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award, Witt Jr. would be the 13th different shortstop (18th occurrence) to win both honors in the same season, and the first since Brandon Crawford in 2015.

In addition to Witt Jr., Royals catcher Salvador Perez also won the Silver Slugger Award. It was the fifth of his career and proves that the Royals duo is one of the best in all of baseball.

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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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