Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run during the first inning against the against the against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on June 20. Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Kansas City Royals Stud Ties Hall of Famer Ernie Banks in Baseball History

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated Jun 21, 2025 9:59 AM ET

The Kansas City Royals earned a hard-fought 6-5 win over the San Diego Padres on Friday night at Petco Park, and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. made a little history.

Witt went just 1-for-5 with a home run in the win, but it was the 85th homer as a shortstop for his career. He has 92 homers overall.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

Most home runs hit as a shortstop - Player within their first 4 career seasons in MLB:
122- Trevor Story
96- Nomar Garciaparra
96- Francisco Lindor
85- @Royals Bobby Witt Jr. (Via his 1st inning solo earlier tonight against SD)
85- Ernie Banks
80- Carlos Correa
78- Hanley Ramirez

Most home runs hit as a shortstop - Player within their first 4 career seasons in MLB:
122- Trevor Story
96- Nomar Garciaparra
96- Francisco Lindor
85- @Royals Bobby Witt Jr. (Via his 1st inning solo earlier tonight against SD)
85- Ernie Banks
80- Carlos Correa
78- Hanley Ramirez pic.twitter.com/pK4WdzMRnf
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) June 21, 2025

Now 25, Witt has ascended into one of the best overall players in the sport. An All-Star, Silver Slugger and Gold Glover a season ago, he's hitting .284 this year with a .342 on-base percentage. He's got 10 homers, 40 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. He's also carrying an .832 OPS.

He's on track to be one of the best players in franchise history as well, and he's a major reason why the Royals advanced to the American League Division Series last season.

This year? It's been a slightly different story, as the Royals enter play on Saturday at 38-38. Though they are in second place in the American League Central, they are on the outside-looking in of both the division and the wild card races. They have won four straight.

The Royals and Padres will play again on Saturday night with first pitch at 7:15 p.m. ET. Noah Cameron gets the start for KC.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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