Bobby Witt Jr. Breaks KC Royals Franchise Record With Incredible Home Run

Bobby Witt Jr. has made no shortage of highlight plays so far this season, but what he did at the plate on Wednesday may have put the rest to shame.

The Kansas City Royals were up 1-0 over the Minnesota Twins when their star shortstop stepped into the batter’s box to lead off the top of the third inning. After going down 0-2, Witt eventually worked his way to a full count against Louie Varland.

Varland let the payoff pitch get away from him, and it looked like Witt would get on board via a walk. Instead, Witt made Varland pay a much higher price for his mistake.

Witt saw the high, 97 mile-per-hour fastball and crushed it 398 feet to left-center for a home run. It cleared the fence, went into the visitors’ bullpen and put the Royals on top 2-0.

Even in real time, it was a bizarre highlight to process, considering how high Varland’s pitch sailed above the strike zone. MLB.com’s Sarah Langs contextualized just how high it was, though, cementing the unique nature of the play.

Per Langs, the pitch was 4.07 feet above the ground when Witt made contact with it. That is now the highest pitch hit for a home run by a Royals player since pitch tracking began in 2008.

The Royals went on to beat the Twins 4-1, avoiding a sweep at the hands of their division rivals. Witt, meanwhile, finished the afternoon 2-for-4 with a walk.

Witt is now batting .349 with 24 home runs, 89 RBI, 25 stolen bases and a 1.009 OPS this season. The first-time All-Star entered Wednesday with a 7.7 WAR, which ranked second in the American League.

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