The Kansas City Royals made their first postseason appearance in nine years after posting a regular season record of 86-76.
After making the AL playoffs as a wild-card team, the Royals swept the series with the Baltimore Orioles.
The Royals then fell to the eventual AL champion New York Yankees in the Division Series.
After winning only 56 games in 2023, the Royals drastically improved, and star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. played a large role in that.
One MLB analyst and former World Series champion recently named Witt Jr. as the best player in baseball.
“I don’t know if he has a ceiling, he’s the best all-around player in our game,” Ron Darling said, via MLB Network.
What is Bobby Witt Jr.’s ceiling?
“I don’t know if he has a ceiling… he’s the best all-around player in our game.” – Ron Darling@Royals | @officialBBWAA pic.twitter.com/1JerhFh5Rd
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) November 15, 2024
Witt debuted with the Royals in 2022 and has improved each season.
This season, Witt played in 161 games and batted .332 with 211 hits, 32 home runs, 109 RBIs, 125 runs scored, 31 stolen bases and a .977 OPS.
Darling points out that Witt improved his defensive game by a large amount, and that was proven by the 24-year-old receiving his first Gold Glove Award.
Although Witt likely won’t win AL MVP over Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, he had one of the best seasons by a shortstop in MLB history.
The Royals have won two World Series championships, with the last coming back in 2015.
Next season, Witt will try to help Kansas City win its first AL Central title since then with eyes on claiming a third World Series crown.
