Kansas City Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. Joins Hall of Fame Company With Historic July

Bobby Witt Jr. capped off his historic July with yet another impressive day at the plate, boosting his numbers to heights not seen in decades.

The Kansas City Royals shortstop went 2-for-3 with two singles and two walks against the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday. He scored three runs in Kansas City’s eventual 10-3 win.

Witt finished July batting .489 with a .520 on-base percentage and .833 slugging percentage. He racked up seven home runs, eight doubles, one triple, 22 RBI, two stolen bases, six walks, two hit-by-pitches, two sacrifice flies and 75 total bases across 23 games over the course of the month.

According to Underdog Fantasy’s Justin Havens, Witt became one of five players in MLB history ever to hit at least .480 with 16-plus extra-base hits in a single July. The feat hadn’t been accomplished since another Royals standout, George Brett, did so in 1980.

Before Brett, the stat line hadn’t been seen since the early days of the live ball era. Rogers Hornsby and Tris Speaker each did it in 1923, while Ty Cobb achieved the feat in both 1912 and 1922.

All four players to hit at least .480 with 16-plus extra-base hits in a single July before Witt went on to make the Hall of Fame.

Witt’s 1.353 OPS in July was the sixth-highest by any player in any month in the 2020s so far, minimum 80 at-bats. He posted 13 multi-hit games, seven three-hit games and one four-hit game compared to just one hitless performance.

On the whole this season, Witt is batting .349 with 19 home runs, 76 RBI, 24 stolen bases, a .992 OPS and a 7.0 WAR. He currently leads all of MLB in hits, runs and batting average, rankings second only to Aaron Judge in WAR.

The Royals signed Witt to an 11-year, $288.8 million contract extension in February. The 24-year-old went on to make his first All-Star appearance a few months later, and now he’s hotter than any other player in baseball.

Witt and the Royals are set to open up a series against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday. First pitch from Comerica Park is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET.

Continue to follow our FanNation on SI coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

You can also follow Sam Connon on Twitter @SamConnon.