A family reunion for the Witts of Canton
Bobby Witt Jr. was born and raised in Texas and now plays shortstop for the Kansas City Royals. But Massachusetts will always feel a bit like home.
His father was a star pitcher at Canton High who went on to the University of Oklahoma and was the third pick of the 1985 draft. He spent 16 years in the majors, 11 of them with the Rangers.
Bobby Sr. stayed in Texas after he retired but never lost his Massachusetts accent — or his love of the Red Sox, Patriots, Celtics, and Bruins. He passed that down to his son and three daughters.
“We were up here all the time, staying at the Cape and seeing family and all my cousins,” Bobby Jr. said. “I was a fan of Boston sports teams like my father.”
His first game at Fenway Park was in 2007, when a rookie second baseman named Dustin Pedroia made a lasting impression. Eleven years later, Witt played at Fenway in a prospect showcase organized by the Red Sox and Yankees.
Scouts were already sold on him by that point. But Witt played so his grandfather, Bob, could see him on the field at Fenway.
“This is a special place for me,” Witt said. “Playing here against the Sox, it’s meaningful to a lot of people in my family. Every game is important but coming here brings back great memories.”
Bobby Sr. was in Box 61 for all four games of the Royals-Sox series last week, watching his son four rows from the field next to the visitors’ dugout.
The Sox won three games but only outscored the Royals by one run in the series. “Junior” (as his father calls him) was 4 for 15 with two doubles, two walks, and two stolen bases. His NFLlevel athleticism stood out.
At 23, Witt is hitting .268 with a
.785 OPS and has dramatically improved his defense after struggling as a rookie.
“The shortstop is legit. He’s a really good player,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said.
The Orioles centered their wildly successful rebuild around catcher Adley Rutschman, the first pick of the 2019 draft. Witt was the second pick and the Royals see him as the centerpiece of their plans.
“He plays every day; he plays hard every day and he never wavers in his attitude. That’s how he leads,” Kansas
City manager Matt Quatraro said. “I think guys see that and they respect the heck out of him for it.”
Witt has hit .310 with a .909 OPS since the All-Star break. That the Royals were 11-15 coming out of the break was a step forward after they won only 26 games in the first half.
“It’s a matter of maturing as a team,” Witt said. “Kansas City is a great sports town. You see what the Chiefs have done and what the Royals did in ’14 and ’15. Our goal is to get back to that.”
As he watched his son play, Bobby
Sr. talked about his own path.
“My dream was always to be on this field, to be here pitching,” he said. “Junior threw hard when he pitched in high school but he loved being in the field and playing everyday.
“To see him out there, it’s a thrill. I know how he feels.”
At his father’s request, Bobby Jr. sent a video to the Canton Little League team wishing them luck in the New England Regional. They advanced to the final before falling a game short of the Little League World Series.
Three generations, father, son, and grandfather, met for lunch Thursday.
“These were games I circled on the calendar when the schedule came out,” said Bobby Sr., a certified MLB agent with Octagon who helps in representing his son. “For our family, it’s exciting.”
The Witts are the ninth father-son duo to be first-round picks — the first to go in the first three picks. Bobby Sr. had one of the legendary fastballs, both for its velocity and occasional waywardness. He was 142-157 with a 4.83 ERA and 1,955 strikeouts.
His final pitch was in Game 6 of the 2001 World Series for the Diamondbacks.
So, could 59-year-old Senior strike out Junior now?
“I threw to him all the time when he was growing up,” Bobby Sr. said. “But those days are over.
“This is his time.”