A look back at the Kansas City Royals and Bobby Witt Jr. in July
By Calvin Silvers
The Kansas City Royals are in a position they haven’t been in since 2015, back when they won the World Series… a spot in the MLB playoffs which will begin wild-card play in October. Kansas City welcomed the Boston Red Sox this week, who were in hands reach of taking that wild-card spot.
The Royals came into their three-game series against the Red Sox feeling confident, having picked up six total road wins against the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers. Coming into this series, both teams were in playoff contention and separated by 2.5 games.
Red Sox took the first two contests, and a sweep would’ve placed them ahead of KC, until Bobby Witt Jr. showcased his MVP talents, hitting 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs. The 8-4 victory moved the Royals 1½ games ahead of Boston in the race for a wild-card spot in the American League.
Looking a little closer in the AL Central, Kansas City moved within a half-game of the second-place Minnesota Twins. The Royals are four games back of the Cleveland Guardians, who were swept in a doubleheader by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Of course, none of this is possible without Witt Jr., as he’s coming off a monster month of July, batting .489 over 23 games en route to being named AL Player of the Month. That average ranks 13th-best in any month since 1906.
From July to August 1st, nineteen of Witt’s 49 knocks went for extra bases. There were nine doubles, eight home runs and two triples, giving him an absurd .878 slugging percentage.
If you’re adding the first contest from August as well, the 25-game stretch was historic for the shortstop. He became the first player since Jose Altuve in 2017 to record a .500 or better average over a 25-game stretch in a single season with a minimum of 90 at-bats.
When looking at the organization as a whole, Witt’s 49 hits in 25 games were the most by a Royal since Johnny Damon, who tallied a handful of impressive 25-game runs in 2000, one of which contained 56 hits.
Looking towards the next series, it’ll be against the St. Louis Cardinals starting on Friday. Kansas City is the favorite in the two-game series, playing at home and having taken both games from the Cardinals when the two teams played in St. Louis in July.
