Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. joins Willie Mays in MLB history with rare baseball feat

Kanas City Royals shortstop prodigy Bobby Witt Jr. is on the path to becoming the greatest in the league. On his way, he achieved a unique milestone created by Hall of Famer Willie Mays.

The San Francisco Giants’ legendary centerfielder Mays has a 23-season-long resume in MLB. It includes two MVP titles (1954, 1965), 24 All-Star nods, 12 Gold Gloves and a World Series pennant in 1954. Witt Jr. has a long way to match Mays’ 3,293 hits and 660 home runs records. But he has touched some of his marks that no other major leaguers have done since Mays.

Per OptaSTATS, Witt Jr.’s three multi-home run games, three multi-stolen base games and six triples in 63 games place him on the elite list alongside Mays.

This year, the Royals signed him with a massive 11-year, $288.7 million deal, marking the League’s second-highest pre-arbitration signing. His contract holds a no-trade clause with four player opt-outs available after 2030 and three club options that can be activated after 2034.

It shows how much faith the club has in the 24-year-old infielder. This season, Witt Jr. has played 63 games, scoring 46 RBI, 54 runs (most in the AL), and 11 home runs with a stat line of .317/.371/.560 and a .931 OPS.

Bobby Witt Jr. took the blame for the error that cost the Royals their game

On Tuesday, the Kansas City Royals faced rivals, the Cleveland Guardians, at Progressive Field. The Guardians emerged victorious with a score of 8-5 and won the series, reaching their 40th victory. However, the game’s result could have been altered if Bobby Witt Jr. hadn’t made a fielding error in the seventh inning.

Angel Zerpa replaced Sam Long for the Royals. With one out remaining, the Guardians' David Fry reached second base due to a fielding error made by Witt Jr. Steven Kwan, Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor reached home, taking an 8-5 lead, which the Royals never recovered from.

In the post-game interview, Witt Jr. took the blame for the game-deciding error and expressed his desire for a do-over.

“I made a mistake,” he said, via Bally Sports KC. “It cost us the game.”

“I should have just thrown the ball to first and made the play. I just kind of slow-played it and should have just made the decision to throw it to first. You learn from it and you try not to make those mistakes and do the little things right and tonight I didn’t."

During Thursday’s game, he went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases but failed to support the team with RBIs or runs. The Royals will next face the AL Central’s leading team, the Seattle Mariners (36-28), in a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium starting Friday.