By C. Trent Rosecrans, Stephen J. Nesbitt and Sam Blum

One night earlier this summer at Kauffman Stadium, Bobby Witt Jr. came to bat in the ninth inning with one on, one out and his Kansas City Royals down a run. Then he roped a game-tying triple for his third hit of the game, raced home on a walk-off grounder and only stopped running to conduct an on-field interview. Still catching his breath, Witt grinned at the home crowd chanting his name and said, “What do y’all think? Pretty fun?”

Witt, the 24-year-old All-Star shortstop, is having a sensational season. He leads the majors with a .352 batting average, rates as both the fastest man and best defender in the game, joins fellow American League MVP front-runner Aaron Judge as the only players above 8 WAR this season, and has started at shortstop and batted second in every Royals game this season.

On top of all that, Witt has been historically good in Kansas City: he’s on track to be the first major leaguer in 20 years to bat .400 at home. After going 3-for-5 Tuesday night, Witt is hitting .405 in 281 plate appearances at Kauffman Stadium this season.

Ted Williams batted above .400 at Fenway Park in 1941, 1951 and 1957. Since then, only nine hitters — four from the pre-humidor days in Colorado — have hit .400 in at least 275 plate appearances at home: Joe Cunningham, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, Kirby Puckett, Andrés Galarraga, Eric Young Sr., Larry Walker, Jeff Cirillo and Barry Bonds.

Witt may soon join that short list.

“He is as complete a player as you could ever imagine,” Boggs, who twice batted better than .400 at Fenway Park, said by phone this week.

“Plus power and uber speed,” Cirillo said.

“He’s become a really great player,” Carew said, “in a really short time.”

The ballpark itself is a factor in Witt’s chase of .400, just as it was with Boggs and Fenway’s Green Monster, with Puckett and the Metrodome’s AstroTurf, and with the mile-high Rockies. Kauffman Stadium has the second-largest outfield in the majors, behind Coors Field, suppressing home runs but giving extra space for singles, doubles and triples. The ballpark helps to maximize the bat-to-ball skill and speed that contribute to Witt’s high average, but it also mutes his home-run output.

In Cincinnati on Friday, Royals infielder Michael Massey guessed that if Witt played every game at the Great American Ball Park launching pad, he’d have 15 more homers. Later that night, Witt smashed his 25th homer this season, a second-deck blast that would’ve been out of any major league park. Massey was incredibly close. Witt’s projected home run total in Cincinnati — 39 — would do wonders for his MVP case.

“I would take Bobby in any ballpark,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.

But Kansas City is home. Witt will take the hits however they come. He said his sole focus is having the same routine and preparation, home or away. “If I have that, then I feel like I’m going to be the same guy each and every night.”

Witt’s batting average is 106 points better at home than on the road this season. That’s in line with the Puckett, Boggs and Bonds home/road splits, and far less of a differential than the .400-hitting Rockies had. Players are more comfortable at home. (There’s a reason only one player in the past 75 years has hit .400 on the road: Ichiro Suzuki had a .405 road split in 2004.)

“When you’re at home and hitting well, everything is more to perfection,” Eric Young Sr. said. “You’ve got your bed, home cooking. It’s tremendous.”

Boggs didn’t realize until this week he’d ever hit .400 at home. But he wasn’t surprised. “I sorta knew it was extremely hard to get me out at Fenway Park,” he said. Boggs has the highest career batting average at Fenway: .369. He got there by being “totally consumed” with the left-field wall.

“If the wind is blowing out, I always had the confidence that I was going to get two hits that day,” he said.

Cirillo didn’t know he’d hit .400 at home, either. But he does remember getting hot in the last series at Coors Field in 2000.

“Glad I got a couple hits so we could have a conversation,” he said.

Jeff Cirillo, shown here in 2001, loved hitting in Colorado, for obvious reasons. (Tom Hauck / Allsport)

Cirillo was the fourth Rockies hitter to bat .400 in Colorado during the franchise’s first decade, and he certainly acknowledged that it wasn’t all great reflexes and batted-ball luck.

“We did it in Coors Field,” he said. “There might be a little bit of an asterisk to that one. What (Witt) is doing is absolutely incredible.”

Larry Walker hit .418 in 1998, .461 in 1999 and .406 in 2001. A humidor was installed in 2002 to tamp down offense. No Rockies hitter has hit .400 at home since that change, though Todd Helton came close — .391 in 2003.

On his way to the clubhouse before games in Colorado, Cirillo would walk across the immense Coors outfield. It felt to him like a links-style golf course, where you hit onto sprawling fairways.

“If you used the middle of the field,” he said, “you were never really in a slump.”

Kauffman Stadium never felt like that. Cirillo batted .234 over 32 road games in Kansas City. “It was always really hot, so your legs felt mushy in the box,” he said. He finds Witt’s feat remarkable, especially with the velocity in today’s game and how technology can help expose hitters’ flaws.

Boggs loved hitting in Kansas City — not because of the dimensions, but because of the AstroTurf that was there until 1994. Not only did Boggs hit .336 at Kauffman Stadium, but that was where he legged out his only inside-the-park home run.

“It was like playing on a pool table,” Boggs said. “If you hit a ball two or three steps to an infielder’s left or right it was through. That’s how fast it was.” But it’s a grass field now, and even with the turf no one hit .400 at Kauffman. When Hall of Famer George Brett batted .390 in 1980, he “only” hit .392 at home.

In the summer of 1977, Rod Carew wanted to be left alone. He had a .411 overall batting average at the start of July, and reporters were flocking to Minneapolis and the Twins’ road cities to talk to him. Carew had so many writers call his hotel rooms that he started changing the name on his reservation. He asked writers to arrive extra early at the ballpark if they wanted an interview. When they balked, he had Twins manager Gene Mauch reiterate the request.

“I didn’t want to take that .400 thing out on the field,” Carew said.

At one point, Carew stopped talking to reporters altogether. But the attention was impossible to avoid. Carew’s batting average slid to .374 by Aug. 25, and even though he hit .441 the rest of the way he still fell 12 points short of a .400 season. He did, however, hit .401 at home.

Carew doesn’t mind reporters asking anymore. He likes Witt, who was born 15 years after Carew’s last major league game. The Hall of Famer has seen a few stars come along with hitting styles that remind Carew of himself, guys like Brett, Suzuki and now Witt. They have the speed to leg out infield singles. They sit on fastballs yet adjust to do damage on off-speed stuff.

Rod Carew tips his cap at fans after a double put his batting average at .400 in June of 1977. (AP Photo / JM)

There aren’t too many reporters asking Witt about hitting .400, but all the same he doesn’t have a lot to say. “You’ve got to just go out and put good at-bats,” he said, “and whatever else happens, happens.” The numbers speak for themselves, and they say Witt’s season-long home hot streak is anything but smoke and mirrors. He’s not hitting bloops and bleeders. He’s barreling balls and finding gaps.

Witt has had 17 three-hit games in Kansas City this season, including a stretch in July of six of seven home games. Today it’s as hard to hit for average as it has been since 1968. The league-wide batting average is .244; for home teams it’s .245; at Kauffman Stadium it’s .259. Witt is in another stratosphere.

Young, like a handful of other .400-at-home hitters, played against Witt’s dad, the pitcher Bobby Witt, during his career. He saw Bobby Jr. grow up around the game and mature into a superstar.

“He’s on a different level mentally than a lot of kids in his class,” Young said. “That’s special because he’s able to see and play and perform in a way a little faster than the other guys.”

In a three-hit road game on Friday, Witt became the third Royals player with 25 homers and 25 steals in consecutive seasons, joining Carlos Beltrán and Bo Jackson.

“It’s incredible,” recently acquired Royals starter Michael Lorenzen said. “You see it on MLB Network every night and you kind of get sick of it, to be honest, because he’s on it every night with his highlights. Then playing with him, it’s the real deal. There aren’t many people you can say that about. You can say that about Bobby. It’s the real deal.”

Witt is on pace for 11.6 fWAR, more than any shortstop in history other than 1908 Honus Wagner (11.8). As the Royals bounce back from a 106-loss season to contend for an AL Central crown, their face-of-the-franchise shortstop is putting on show after show for the home crowd.

What do y’all think? Pretty fun?

(Top photo of Witt: Ed Zurga / Getty Images)

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers apparently isn’t built to handle the Chicago Bears’ 12th man.

When the Democratic governor tried to take his turn to declare his state’s party delegates for Kamala Harris at the DNC Tuesday, the hometown Chicago crowd booed Evers so relentlessly over a sports reference he had a hard time finishing the declaration. 

Evers stood in front of a crowd of Wisconsin delegates wearing cheesehead hats, the famed head topper for fans of the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are the Chicago Bears’ fiercest rivals, dating back over 100 years. The Bears and Packers share the oldest rivalry in the NFL, and the two teams have met more times than any other two teams in NFL history. 

After all those meetings, their fans don’t like each other, to put it plainly. 

Evers was reminded harshly of all this by his fellow party members in Chicago with a chorus of boos. 

That didn’t stop Evers from reading off the rest of the major sports teams based in his state, including the University of Wisconsin Badgers and Milwaukee Bucks and Brewers. Once it came time to announce the delegation’s vote for Harris, the governor started to choke on his words. 

“Wisconsin has one vote present and 90 more votes for … where are we at?” Evers said, before struggling to speak. He then stopped to compose himself and announced to the crowd, “You got me going here.” 

SIMONE BILES CATCHES HEAT FOR WEARING JONATHAN OWENS-THEMED PACKERS JACKET TO BEARS’ PRESEASON GAME

Evers then mumbled again and stopped to gasp, saying, “Oh my,” before the cheeseheads around him started to chant “We love you Tony!” 

Evers shook his head and repeated “I” three times before stopping again. 

“Ninety-four votes for …,” Evers then began before having to stop again. “I’ll get there, I’ll get there.”

The crowd went silent, except for one man standing right next to Evers who giggled and looked around. The governor then twitched his hand and began speaking again.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential candidate, poses for a picture with Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport July 23, 2024, in Milwaukee.  (Kevin Mohatt/AFP)

“Ninety-four votes for former Wisconsinite, vice president and our next president of the United States of America, Kamala Ha-Harris,” he finally declared. 

Evers, 72, has been in office since January 2019. In April, he urged the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that banned absentee ballot drop boxes beyond the confines of election clerks’ offices in the presidential battleground state. In a filing the day of Wisconsin’s presidential primary, Evers asked the court to overturn a 2022 ruling that limited drop box locations.

In March, Evers vetoed 41 bills passed by the Republican-led Legislature, rejecting a $3 billion Republican tax cut, political loyalty pledges for higher education employees and a plan setting how many wolves can be hunted each year.

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The Seattle Storm and forward Gabby Williams agreed to a rest-of-season contract, the team announced Tuesday. The deal comes after Williams led the French national team in points (15.5) and assists (2.3) en route to earning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics and nearly defeating the Americans.

Williams, 27, played a career-low 10 games for the Storm last season, but her 8.4 points and 3.8 assists are career bests. The UConn product was selected by the Chicago Sky as the No. 4 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, where she spent the first three seasons of her career.

“I’m so excited to be joining the Storm for the rest of the season,” Williams said in a statement. “I feel more than ready to finally return to Seattle. I’ve missed the organization, my teammates and the fans so much. I absolutely can’t wait to come back and finish the season strong.”

⛈️ GUESS WHO’S BACK ⛈️

Welcome home, @gabbywilliams15! 💚💛

📰 https://t.co/AexknHfEZI pic.twitter.com/CJrlm8bqnb

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— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) August 20, 2024

Seattle coach Noelle Quinn appears to be equally excited to have Williams back with the Storm.

“We’re thrilled to have Gabby back with the Storm,” Quinn said. “Gabby is a dynamic player who brings tremendous versatility. She’s a two-way player that can guard multiple positions and has a strong offensive game; given her familiarity with our system, we know she can have an immediate impact.

“Gabby’s Olympic performance showcased her world-class talent, and we’re excited to have her join us as we push for the playoffs.”

Why is this happening now?

Seattle has been carefully hoarding cap space for the last month or so, keeping a full-time roster of 10 players while cycling Kiana Williams through a series of seven-day contracts. That gives the Storm with just enough cap room today to sign Williams to a pro-rated veteran minimum deal for the remainder of the season.

Had Williams opted not to re-join Seattle, the Storm would have had the option to search for an upgrade via trade before the WNBA trade deadline’s Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

What Williams brings to Storm

Williams had an outstanding tournament at the Paris Olympics and has shined in European play, but she will be asked to hold a different role in Seattle.

With Skylar Diggins-Smith at point, Williams will have to play more off ball. The spacing could get complicated for a career 24.8 percent 3-point shooter on a team that is already the worst in the league from long range.

It’s unclear if she’ll even start since the Storm’s starting five of Diggins-Smith, Jewell Loyd, Jordan Horston, Nneka Ogwumike and Ezi Magbegor is outscoring opponents by 12.5 points per 100 possessions. What Williams does bring, no matter if she’s starting or off the bench, is supplementary creation combined with dynamite perimeter defense.

She was an all-defense selection with a 2.13 assist-to-turnover ratio in her last full WNBA season in 2022 when Seattle lost to eventual champion Las Vegas in the postseason semifinals. The Storm will need better shooting out of Loyd and Sami Whitcomb to keep Williams on the court, but there’s little risk to bringing her in at this point of the season when the player she’s replacing wasn’t a part of the rotation.

Williams is familiar with Loyd, Magbegor and Quinn, and is comfortable on the biggest stages.

Required reading

(Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)