Bobby Witt Jr. on Home Run Derby

When Bobby Witt Jr. was approached about doing the 2024 T-Cell Residence Run Derby throughout All-Star week and received the approval he wished from his teammates, coaches and trainers to go for it, he set to work determining who must be his Derby pitcher.

Properly, how about his dad, Bobby Witt, proprietor of a 4.83 ERA throughout 16 large league seasons? It was “undoubtedly” a consideration, the youthful Witt stated, earlier than taking a jab at his dad.

“His arm is hanging after pitching 16 years within the large leagues,” Witt Jr. stated.

“I don’t even know what it might appear to be,” Witt Sr. stated, laughing. “I inform folks on a regular basis: I don’t assume I might get a dashing ticket in a faculty zone with my fastball proper now, so I don’t assume I’d be a lot assist.”

The excellent news is that Witt Jr. has no scarcity of huge leaguers in his household he might flip to for assist. All three of his older sisters married baseball gamers, and Witt went with James Russell, a lefty who pitched six seasons with the Cubs and is the son of former Rangers reliever Jeff Russell.

“He’s a really relaxed individual,” Witt Sr. stated of Russell. “He doesn’t actually stress out lots. He’s a strike-thrower. Left-handed. And he throws three-quarters. He’ll be nice at it.”

All-Star week is a real household affair for the Witts this 12 months, with Witt Jr. collaborating in his first Residence Run Derby on Monday and his first All-Star Recreation on Tuesday at Globe Life Area in Arlington — simply half-hour south of his hometown of Colleyville, Texas. Witt is one among 4 Royals who had been named All-Stars, together with Salvador Perez, Seth Lugo and Cole Ragans.

Not solely will the 24-year-old Witt get to signify the Royals on a nationwide stage as a rising famous person, however he’ll do it with tons of household and associates there to assist him, which implies simply as a lot as making his All-Star debut. He and his dad and mom are doing their greatest to accommodate as many ticket requests as attainable, so the Witts can have a big contingent within the stands this week.

“It’s a dream come true, actually,” Witt Jr. stated. “It’s simply a type of belongings you work for, and I’m going to get pleasure from each second and have a blast with it.”

“All the household is so completely satisfied for him,” Witt Sr. added. “We all know how onerous he works, and simply to have the ability to do that in his hometown I believe makes it extra particular.”

When the Royals signed Witt to a mega-extension that was by far the biggest contract in workforce historical past and one that might make him a Royal via 2037 if all participant and workforce choices are exercised, they put their full confidence within the shortstop as their face of the franchise. It was clear from the second they chose Witt with the No. 2 general decide within the 2019 MLB Draft that they’d a generational expertise of their group, and holding him in Kansas Metropolis was a precedence when majority proprietor John Sherman took over the franchise later in ‘19.

Now Witt is an All-Star and taking part in like an AL MVP candidate.

He’s slashing .323/.369/.558 with 16 house runs, 25 doubles and 9 triples. His 5.2 bWAR (Baseball-Reference) ranks fourth behind Aaron Decide (6.4), Gunnar Henderson (6.3) and Shohei Ohtani (5.4), whereas Witt’s 5.8 fWAR (Fangraphs) ranks third behind Decide (6.3) and Henderson (6.1). Witt’s been an elite shortstop, together with his six defensive runs tying him for third on the place whereas his 14 outs above common are tied for first with the Rangers’ Marcus Semien amongst any place in baseball.

“I believe it was a bit of little bit of weight off his shoulders,” Witt Sr. stated of the contract. “He didn’t have to consider it anymore. His thoughts is free to exit and play. However I believe the factor that was subsequent was the profitable. That’s why he did this deal. They advised him they had been going to make that dedication, and so they went out to signal the blokes that Junior noticed they wanted to enhance the workforce. And it’s been numerous enjoyable for him.

“Everyone likes to win, however this child simply has a ardour for it.”

A spark offensively and defensively, Witt is a significant cause the Royals have completed an entire turnaround from their 106-loss season final 12 months. For Witt, it’s all about consistency, each individually and as a workforce.

He’s prepared for a fun-filled All-Star week, however he’s wanting ahead to returning to Kansas Metropolis to get the second half of the season underway.

“There’s much more methods I might enhance,” Witt stated. “On the basepaths, defensively, even offensively. There’s a lot extra to enhance. Not solely me, however this workforce, we’ve much more to show to others that we’re a particular workforce.”