Royals’ Postseason Run Caps Historic Breakout Season For Bobby Witt Jr.

Image credit: Bobb Witt Jr. (Photo by Mary DeCicco/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Though the Royals’ season ended in disappointment Thursday with a Game 4 ALDS loss to the Yankees, the performance put together by Bobby Witt Jr. in 2024 to help get Kansas City back to the postseason for the first time in a decade was still one for the record books.

If one were to judge Witt by the company he keeps—he finished as a finalist alongside Shohei Ohtani for the Baseball America Player of the Year award that ultimately went to Aaron Judge—it would be easy to conclude that he is a rare talent. Indeed, the type of season that the 24-year-old shortstop turned in puts him in exclusive company.

Witt batted .332/.389/.588 with 32 home runs, 45 doubles, 31 stolen bases and 109 RBIs during the regular season. He led the major leagues in batting average and with 211 hits. But that doesn’t tell the complete story of Witt’s incredible 2024 achievements.

Let’s dive into some of the eye-popping figures and facts that made Witt’s 2024 season one of the best in recent memory.

Witt had one of the best seasons by a shortstop in the integration era, according to WAR

Though the Baseball Reference (9.4) and FanGraphs (10.4) frameworks disagree on Witt’s exact WAR total for 2024, both agree that he had one of the top 10 highest totals by a shortstop since 1947.

Multiple Ernie Banks, Cal Ripken Jr. and Alex Rodriguez seasons appear in both top 10s, along with single seasons from Lou Boudreau (1948), Rico Petrocelli (1969), Robin Yount (1982) and now Witt.

Witt is uncommonly good at a young age

Mickey Mantle. Willie Mays. Mike Trout. Alex Rodriguez. Cal Ripken Jr. Mike Schmidt.

Those are the names that crowd the top of the leaderboard for highest WAR totals in a season by a player age 24 or younger.

Witt’s name now appears with that group. The common link between all players is uncommon offensive excellence paired with Gold Glove-caliber defense at a premium position.

Witt is already one of the most powerful shortstops ever

Just 11 shortstops in MLB history have multiple 30-home run seasons. Witt is now one of them.

Alex Rodriguez leads the way with seven 30-homer seasons. Francisco Lindor has five, while Ernie Banks and Miguel Tejada have four apiece and Corey Seager has three.

Witt is in the next tier down with only two 30-homer seasons, but considering that he is 24 years old and a veteran of just three MLB seasons, he has plenty of time to climb the ranking.

Witt is the only shortstop to go 30-30 twice

When it comes to pairing home runs and stolen base output in the same season, Witt has no equal.

He went 20-20 as a rookie in 2022 and 30-30 in his next two seasons. When he reached the milestone this year, he became the first shortstop ever to go 30-30 twice.

Only Barry Larkin, Francisco Lindor, Hanley Ramirez, Jimmy Rollins and Alex Rodriguez had ever reached 30-30 as shortstops previously—and they all did it once. However, it’s notable that A-Rod actually went 40-40, while Lindor probably would have added his second 30-30 season this year if not for an injury late in the season.

Witt would have been a strong Major League Player of the Year candidate in most seasons. It’s just that 2024 wasn’t one of those seasons, because of history-making efforts from Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani.