Research shows Royals’ Bobby Witt had a first hit unlike any in MLB since at least 1901
It was 47 degrees at Kauffman Stadium for Thursday’s season opener, and winds made it feel much colder than that.
The unseasonably cool temperatures likely kept some fans away from the game, but most of the announced crowd of 28,459 went home happy. That’s because rookie phenom Bobby Witt Jr. came through with a two-out RBI double in the eighth inning to break a tie with the Cleveland Guardians.
Witt later scored and Kansas City won 3-1. Royals fan Kevin Flaherty nicely summed up the feeling among Royals fans.
“I am cold to my bones. My cheeks are wind-burned,” he wrote on Twitter.
“But I got to see Royals fans chant Bobby Witt Jr.’s name just before he ripped a game-winning double (and scored an insurance run) in his first game in The Show.
“What a great Opening Day.”
What is probably unknown by most fans is that Witt did something unseen in Major League Baseball for at least 120 years.
Stats by Stats shared this nugget on Twitter after the Royals game: “Bobby Witt Jr. of the Royals is the only player in the modern era to have his first career hit be a go-ahead extra-base hit in the 8th inning or later on Opening Day.”
The modern era of Major League Baseball started in 1901, as Bill James has noted.
Fan videos
When Witt was batting in the eighth inning, Bally Sports Kansas City’s Ryan Lefebvre noted a multitude of fans had their phones out and were recording the plate appearance.
They were rewarded when Witt ripped a double to left. Some of those fans shared their videos to Twitter, so here are multiple angles of how the hit looked from the stands.
This is from Twitter user Royal de Lux:
Here is another look from Twitter user PrimeTime KC:
This angle is via Twitter user Cash Kansas:
Twitter user Joe Davis had this video:
Here is one more and it’s from Twitter user Broc Silvers:
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 8:52 AM with the headline "Research shows Royals’ Bobby Witt had a first hit unlike any in MLB since at least 1901."
