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Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. believes he ‘could have done better’ in his first year in majors

That first-year-in-the-majors learning experience for Kansas City Royals rookie phenom Bobby Witt Jr. turned out to be more than he ever could’ve imagined.

From handling the spotlight — he got a standing ovation at Kauffman Stadium before his first at-bat — to managing his own expectations and the amount of pressure he placed on himself, to seeing the business side of the game with trades as well as front office and staff changes, Witt saw it all unfold right in front of his eyes.

The former No. 2 overall draft pick (2019), national high school player of the year, Minor League Player of the Year and MLB.com’s No. 1-rated prospect heading into the 2022 season, Witt had a little bit of everything thrown at him in his first season and responded with historic production.

That production earned Witt the Royals Les Milgram Player of the Year as voted on by the Kansas City Chapter of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA), which the Royals announced on Monday.

Witt is the fourth rookie to win the award since it was established in 1971. He joined Bob Hamelin (1994), David DeJesus (2004) and Mike Aviles (2008).

“I think I personally could’ve done better,” Witt said during a video conference with reporters. “I think everyone could say they always could do better. ... I always think there’s always room for improvement each and every year. I think this year at the beginning of the year I put a little bit too much pressure on myself.”

Witt, 22, said he thinks his early struggles were a good thing for him to go through and learn from for the betterment of his career.

Even with early struggles, Witt finished the season with a .254 batting average, .294 on-base percentage and a .428 slugging percentage to go with 20 home runs, 80 RBIs and 30 stolen bases — in just his second full season as a professional, his first in the majors.

He played in a team-high 150 games and also led the team in runs (82), hits (150), doubles (31), triples (six), RBIs and stolen bases. His 20 home runs ranked second.

Witt joined Barry Bonds (1987), Alex Rodríguez (1998), Mike Trout (2012, 2013) and Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019) as the only players 22 or younger with 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in a season.

Witt’s 57 extra-base hits set a Royals rookie record. He surpassed both Carlos Beltrán and Kevin Seitzer.

Witt began the season as the starting third baseman, but he finished the season at the more familiar shortstop position.

Unlike last winter, he goes into this offseason as the Royals’ projected everyday shortstop next season. Witt said he’ll likely do more drills specific to playing shortstop and take more reps there this offseason, but he doesn’t think it will change his offseason focus significantly.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a huge change because I’ve played shortstop my whole life, played it last year for however long,” Witt said. “It’s the same thing over and over again. Just trying to build off little things.”

A decorated rookie class

Witt led all rookies in the majors in extra-base hits (57), RBIs (80) and stolen bases (30). He also ranked among the rookie leaders in doubles (31, second), triples (six, second), total bases (253, second), hits (150, second), runs scored (82, third) and home runs (20, third).

Witt was a finalist for the Players Choice Award for AL Outstanding Rookie as selected by the major-league players, but was not one of the three finalists for the AL Rookie of the Year as voted on by the BBWAA.

Seattle Mariners center fielder Julio Rodriguez won both awards.

Rodriguez was just the fourth rookie in MLB history with 25 home runs or more and 20 stolen bases. He earned All-Star honors as well as a Silver Slugger in his first season in the majors. His Mariners also made it to the playoffs for the first time in 20 years.

Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman, drafted No. 1 overall in the 2018 MLB Draft ahead of Witt, was a finalist for the AL Rookie of the Year as was Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan.

Houston Astros rookie shortstop Jeremy Peña won the AL Gold Glove, MVP of the ALCS, World Series MVP and led the Astros to the World Series championship.

“You always want to see what everyone is doing,” Witt said when asked if he’d kept track of his rookie class. “Me and Julio have a good little relationship, so I’ve known him for a little bit now. It’s just great to see what he’s done. What Peña did in the postseason was really great to see. Then Kwan, we played him a lot, he’s a great player.

“It’s always great just to see those guys that you kind of come up with, that rookie class, start to perform. Also, it gives you motivation because you always want to be the best of the best. Then you also want to be winning games.”

Witt downplayed any need to compare himself to those other players, several of whom he keeps in touch with throughout the year.

“I feel like you can’t ever compare yourself to other guys,” Witt said. “Once you start doing that, I feel like that’s when you start going down that little rabbit hole, being like, ‘I’ve got to do this, I’ve got to do this.’ When really, I’ve just got to be myself and play my game and know what I need to do to help the team I’m on win.”

Perez produced despite surgery

Royals veteran star catcher Salvador Perez, the team’s Player of the Year the previous two seasons, won the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award.

Perez started and played in 114 games (74 starts at catcher, 40 as designated hitter). He missed 10 games in May with a thumb sprain, and he missed another 31 games from June 24 to July 29 following thumb surgery.

Perez slashed .254/.292/.465 and led the Royals with 23 home runs despite the thumb injury that interrupted his season. He led the team in homers for the third consecutive season. He joined John Mayberry (1972-75) and Steve Balboni(1984-86) as the only other Royals to lead the team in homers for at least three consecutive seasons.

This season, Perez also moved past former teammate Billy Butler into eighth place among the club’s all-time hits leaders. Perez has 1,274 career hits.