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TAMPA -- Bobby Witt Jr. has logged 500 career games for the Kansas City Royals, and he has no plans of stopping any time soon.
The 24-year-old superstar shortstop reached that milestone on Wednesday night, while also extending his career-best hit streak to 21 games in the Royals’ 3-0 win over the Rays.
Witt became the 52nd player in franchise history to reach that milestone and the 33rd player to have his first 500 games all with the Royals. And Witt’s hit streak is tied for seventh best in franchise history, with Whit Merrifield holding the record at 31 games.
In the grand scheme of things, maybe 500 doesn’t seem like a huge number. After all, Witt didn’t even know about the milestone on Tuesday until Royals PR director Nick Kappel gave him a heads up that some reporters wanted to ask him about it pregame.
“I guess time flies when you’re having fun,” Witt said. “I just always want to be out there for the team. It’s just a number, but it’s a special number. And you want to keep adding them each and every day.”
But consider all that Witt, who has established himself as one of the premier hitters and defenders in baseball, has done in just 500 games and four seasons with the Royals: He’s slashed .290/.339/.504 with 84 home runs and 297 RBIs. He’s stolen 119 bases. That combination of homers and stolen bases has only been matched by four others through 500 games: Bobby Bonds, Eric Davis, Alfonso Soriano and Hanley Ramirez.
Witt entered Wednesday with 16.3 career WAR, per Baseball-Reference. He has two 30-homer, 30-steal seasons in his young career, the first shortstop to accomplish that. At the start of 2024, he signed the biggest contract in franchise history with an 11-year, $288.7 million extension that could reach 14 years and $377.7 million.
He followed that with a 9.4 WAR in 2024, finishing runner-up in American League MVP voting and becoming the batting champion with a .332 average, as well as earning All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glove honors for the first time.
Witt helped lead the Royals back to the postseason for the first time in nine years last season and is looking to run it back again in 2025.
“Any time you can have a player who is that good, it changes the trajectory of the organization,” general manager J.J. Picollo said. “To sign him long term is even better. That’s a clear sign of how much he can mean not only to the team, but also to the city.
“You look around the league, all the good teams have some sort of superstar on their roster. We’ve got ours in Bobby. It’s a pretty special thing for us.”
And it feels like Witt is just getting started.
“There’s always more work to prove,” Witt said. “... I think you’re only as good as your last day. So how can I be a good teammate, how can I be better today? Whatever the numbers and papers say, it’s all great and everything, but I got to keep working to keep getting better.”
Witt is only 24 years old, so he has a lot of baseball left in him. What stands out to those who are around him every day is his durability and his relentless pursuit to improve his game. Royals captain Salvador Perez says Witt is one of the best players he’s ever seen. Vinnie Pasquantino, who hits behind Witt in the lineup, often shares incredulous looks with opposing catchers after Witt showcases blazing speed or power.
“It’s more so like, ‘Isn’t that insane?’” Pasquantino said recently.
Witt still thinks there’s a lot to improve, though. Even during his hit streak, he admits there are pitches he’s missing. He’s yet to tap into his power so far this season with only two home runs, and he hasn’t come through as much yet with runners in scoring position (.602 OPS) as he did last year (1.183 OPS).
“I feel like I’m still not where I want to be,” Witt said. “There’s still a lot more work to improve. It’s nice to look at and see where I’m doing, but then also, there’s a lot more I feel like I need to do with my swing and be in a better spot for the rest of this.”
Yet he’s still hitting .322 with an .863 OPS after the first month of the season.
But after 500 games, Witt won’t put a number on how many more he has in him.
“As long as I can walk or do whatever, I’m going to play,” Witt said. “… Until the jersey is ripped off me.”