Chants of “MVP!” are becoming commonplace when Bobby Witt Jr. comes to bat or does something amazing on the field.
The Royals shortstop hit two home runs and had four RBIs in the team’s 8-4 win against the Red Sox on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium. Witt is MLB’s leader in batting average (.349), runs scored (99) and hits (162). He also has 22 home runs and 84 RBIs.
“I think he’s the best player in the league,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Clearly, I’m going to be biased.”
Witt put the Royals on the board with a homer in the first and hit a 421-foot blast to center in the sixth. He added a two-run double in the fourth that gave the Royals the lead.
“I go up there in those situations and try to control what I can control and find a good pitch to hit,” Witt said of hitting in the clutch.
Witt’s double in the fourth came after he fell behind in the count 0-2. M.J. Melendez and Michael Massey came around to score after they drew walks after falling behind in the count 0-2.
“You get in a prolonged at-bat when you’re down 0-2 because you get in swing mode and it’s a really uphill fight,” Quatraro said. “And at some point when you start laying off pitches that means you’re pretty locked in on what the guy’s doing to you.
“And Bobby, they tried to climb the ladder, but that’s one of his strengths. And they just didn’t get enough there to get it by him.”
Since the All-Star break Witt is hitting .481 with six homers and 21 RBIs in 19 games. The Royals (64-52) have gone 12-7 in that stretch and currently have 1 1 /2 game lead over the Red Sox in the race for a wild card.
“Just doing the little things,” Witt said. “If we do those things right, we’re going to be in a good spot here soon.”
