"I want to score for Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez" - Bobby Witt Jr. sets goal to enhance stolen base game
Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. did nothing but turn heads this season. He finished the regular season leading all MLB hitters in hits (211) and batting average (.332).
He also swiped a good amount of bags. While he was nowhere near his career-high of 49, he still finished the year ranked 17 across MLB with 31 stolen bases.
With his season over, he joined the crew at Foul Territory for an ALCS Game 4 watch party. He talked about his focus on the run game, and how he knows he has more work to do.
"I think that stealing bases is something that I can get way better at because I feel like last year I led the league in caught stealing, this year [I] was up there again," said Witt.
Witt wants to reduce the amount of times he gets caught stealing. That is a huge momentum loser, especially when there are elite hitters behind Witt in the lineup.
"Now with having Vinnie [Pasquantino] and [Salvador Perez] hitting behind me, it's like I'm on first and I'm in scoring position, because how may times are they putting the ball in the gap and everything? I want to score runs for those guys" said Witt.
Bobby Witt Jr. and the Kansas City Royals poised to build upon successful season
Not many people were paying attention to the Royals ahead of the 2024 season. Many people wrote them off as not having much of a chance this year, but they surprised quite a few.
While they did not win the American League Central, they put pressure on the Cleveland Guardians, finishing just 6.5 games back. Despite that, they still made the postseason and made the most of it.
They swept the Baltimore Orioles in the Wild Card Series but had some trouble against the New York Yankees. They lost the ALDS 3-1 ending their season, but there is a lot to be excited about.
Kansas City will have their core returning for next season. However, they are at risk of losing Michael Wacha in free agency. That could sting a bit if that happens, but it would not be a giant loss.
Do not sleep on this club coming into the 2025 MLB season. Bobby Witt Jr. and the rest of the club will be looking for revenge.