Witt Jr. Remaining Cool After First MLB Hit: ‘Felt Like Any Other Game’
The Kansas City Royals defeated the Cleveland Guardians by a final score of 3-1 on Opening Day, and their go-ahead run scored in the bottom of the eighth inning was a memorable moment for just about everyone involved. That applies even more to third baseman Bobby Witt Jr., as he's the one who drove it in.
It was a relatively quiet day up until that point for the top prospect in all of baseball. Outside of a flashy play at third base, Witt's impact on the game was minimal. He was 0-for-3 at the plate and overall, the weather conditions and an anemic offense on both sides contributed to a contest that was quick-developing but low-energy.
After Witt stepped into the batter's box and saved the day, though, the crowd came alive. Everyone ranging from players and coaches to fans and family members soaked up the moment. When asked about how nervous he was before getting his first big-league hit, Witt played it cool.
"It's hard to have nerves when you've got all your teammates rooting for you and all the fans rooting for you," Witt said in his postgame interview on the field at Kauffman Stadium. "It just felt like any other game. I went up there just trying to get the guy in from second, and luckily [I] did the job."
Witt, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Amateur Draft, has been praised as a future franchise cornerstone ever since the day he was selected by the team. That hype never truly died down over the past few years, even after a slightly underwhelming Rookie ball experience in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic wiping out the 2020 minor league campaign. Once Witt caught on, he never looked back.
Last season, Witt split time between Double-A Northwest Arkansas and Triple-A Omaha. At his first stop, he hit .295/.369/.570 in 61 games. At his next stop, his production was just as good. Witt had a .581 SLG, a 142 wRC+ and even lowered his strikeout rate from 24% down to 22.5%. He was likely ready for the big leagues at the end of last year, but the Royals made him wait.
Witt headed into spring training with the tiniest bit of uncertainty surrounding whether he'd break camp with the Royals. He immediately extinguished all remaining doubt, posting a .406 batting average with a 1.222 OPS, three doubles and three home runs in 12 spring games. He sent a clear message to the baseball world: he was prepared for takeoff.
The Royals designated pitcher Daniel Tillo for assignment in order to make room for Witt's contract on the 40-man roster, and the move paid immediate dividends. Witt's been waiting for a moment like this for his entire life, and it's reasonable to expect that he'll make plenty more clutch plays moving forward.
"As long as I can remember," Witt said when asked how long he's dreamed of being a big-leaguer stepping up in big moments. "Maybe five, six years old. I always stood in front of the television, just trying to be like, 'I want to be like that guy' — whoever it was. But now we're here, so I'm going to try to stay up here and try to help the team as much as I can."
Jordan Foote is the editor-in-chief of Inside the Royals, as well as the deputy editor of Arrowhead Report and a producer for Kansas City Sports Network. Jordan is a Baker University alumnus, earning his degree in Mass Media with a minor in Sports Administration. Follow him on Twitter @footenoted.