Bobby Witt Jr. has reached another illustrious milestone on Friday night.
The Kansas City Royals’ young star became the 45th member of Major League Baseball’s exclusive 30-30 club: 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season.
He’s also the first Royals player to record a 30-30 season.
Witt hit the historic home run against the New York Yankees at Kauffman Stadium. He drilled an 88 mph changeup thrown by Yankees reliever Keynan Middleton. The ball traveled 423 feet with a 104 mph exit velocity.
Witt becomes the third player to join the 30-30 club this season, following outfielders Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves) and Julio Rodriguez (Seattle Mariners).
There have been 64 instances of a 30-30 season in MLB history.
Until this season, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins was the last player to achieve a 30-30 season. He became the 42nd player to record the mark, doing so in 2021.
Witt is the fifth shortstop to produce the historic numbers. He follows Barry Larkin, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rollins and Hanley Ramirez.
The Royals have benefited from Witt’s epic moments this season. He hit a walk-off grand slam against the Minnesota Twins on July 28. He also recorded an inside-the-park home run against the Seattle Mariners on Aug. 14.
This is Witt’s second major accomplishment this year. He became the first player in major-league history to record at least 20 home runs and 30 steals in each of his first two seasons.
Witt also flirted with a 30-30 season in the minor leagues.
He had a stolen base taken away when a game was canceled due to inclement weather. He finished with 33 homers and 29 steals across multiple levels that season.
So, what’s next for Witt?
The Royals star could become the fourth MLB player to record a 30-50 season. He needs one more steal to join Eric Davis (1987), Barry Bonds (1990) and Acuña Jr. (2023) on that even more exclusive list.
Jaylon Thompson covers the Royals for The Kansas City Star. He previously covered the 2021 World Series and the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Jaylon is a proud alumni of the University of Georgia.