Bobby Witt Jr. keeps stacking up the hardware.
The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association announced that the Royals shortstop has won the Heart & Hustle Award for the third straight season, making him the only player to take the honor three times since it was created in 2005.
The award is voted on by alumni and active MLB players and goes to the player who best shows a passion for baseball while embodying the game’s values, spirit and traditions. The MLBPAA uses 30 committees made up of alumni with ties to each team, and those groups select one player per club based on the passion, desire and work ethic they show on and off the field. From there, fans, alumni and active players vote on the overall winner as the season winds down.
Witt has been Kansas City’s nominee in all five of his big league seasons. Before him, the only player to win the award more than once was Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who took it in 2006 and 2007.
Witt, 26, turned in another big year at the plate, hitting .281/.359/.441 with 157 hits in 558 at-bats. He scored 94 runs, added 33 doubles, 18 home runs, 54 RBI and 45 stolen bases, and finished with an .800 OPS in 143 games. Among American League players, he ranked second in steals, tied for sixth in doubles, ninth in hits, ninth in runs and tied for ninth in batting average.
He’s also in the mix for more recognition. Witt is a finalist for the Silver Slugger Award at shortstop after winning it in each of the last two seasons. If he wins again for 2026, he would become the first American League shortstop to capture the award in three straight seasons since Derek Jeter, who won four in a row from 2006-09.
Witt was also a finalist for the Gold Glove Award after winning that honor in each of the previous two seasons, in 2024 and 2025.
The numbers behind Witt’s start to his career are just as eye-catching. He became the first Royals player to homer at least 10 times in each of his first five seasons, and the first player in MLB history to post at least 10 home runs and 25 stolen bases in each of his first five seasons.
He also became the fourth player in the Modern Era, since 1900, to steal at least 30 bases in each of his first five seasons, joining Ichiro Suzuki, Vince Coleman and Rickey Henderson.
And over those first five seasons, he’s one of only five players to reach at least 100 home runs and 150 stolen bases, alongside Bobby Bonds, Eric Davis, Barry Bonds and Hanley Ramírez.
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Gomezs selection stands out even more because he is the youngest player ever picked for the game, while Lamkins presence adds a different kind of storyline after he returned to action following a shoulder injury. The Fall Stars Game will be shown live on MLB Network and streamed on MLB.com and the MLB app, giving Royals fans a chance to keep tabs on a group that is starting to make some noise beyond the organizations own prospect lists. [Read more 🡒]