Bobby Witt Jr. proves MLB analyst's first impression wrong

Anchored by third-year star Bobby Witt Jr., the Kansas City Royals surprised everyone by advancing to the postseason last year. The Royals finished with an 86-76 record that merited them a wild-card berth. They swept the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card Series, 2-0. However, the team was eliminated in four games during the ALDS when it faced the juggernaut New York Yankees.

The Royals owe a huge part of their success to Witt. In the recent top 10 list made by the MLB Network, analyst and former Team USA skipper Mark DeRosa admitted that he was proven wrong by the young shortstop with regards to his first impression of him.

"I was a little concerned about his throwing motion while watching him," DeRosa said. "I questioned if he was going to stay at shortstop or will he be relocated to center field. However, his defensive metrics then went through the roof."

DeRosa served as Team USA's manager during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He expressed his doubts about Bobby Witt's form compared to that of established middle infielders such as Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Tim Anderson.

Host Brian Kenny then echoed the thoughts of one of the pioneers of sabermetrics, Bill James. Kenny said James claimed Witt is the greatest Kansas City Royal (albeit, in his short career) apart from George Brett.

Bobby Witt Jr.'s MVP-caliber season

Pundits and analysts have commented that if not for Aaron Judge's mind-boggling 2024 season, Bobby Witt would have easily been the easiest choice for American League MVP.

Witt finished the season by coming second in the MVP polls, winning the MLB batting title, bagging the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in his position, and making his first All-Star appearance.

The young star shortstop finished the 2024 season with an MLB-leading 211 base hits and a .322 batting average. He also led the American League with 161 games played. In total, the 24-year-old capped off his stellar year with a .332/.389/.588 slash line with an OPS of .977.

Witt also recorded 32 home runs, 109 RBIs, 45 doubles and 11 triples for a staggering 9.4 fWAR generated.