Bobby Witt Jr. is the best baseball player alive not named Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge. The 25-year-old Kansas City Royals star led MLB in hits for a second consecutive season, won his second straight Gold Glove, and notched another top five MVP finish in 2025. As a result, MLB Network recently ranked him third on their Top 100 list behind only Ohtani and Judge, of course.
When asked for his reaction to the ranking, Witt tells Complex, “It’s pretty cool being up there, but it’s also… just stuff on paper I can’t control.”
Witt, a true five-tool player and an athlete ambassador for MLB The Show 26, is more focused on the World Baseball Classic at the moment. After primarily serving as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in 2023, Witt will take on a larger role as Team USA’s starting shortstop when they take the field Friday night in their opener against Brazil. Here, Witt recounts his World Baseball Classic debut in 2023 and what he learned from Team USA’s veterans.
At 22 years old, you were the youngest member of the Team USA roster in 2023. What did you gain from that experience?
It was awesome. Didn’t play much, but I really felt like I had a role. I was just trying to be a sponge and soak it all in and learn from the best of the best. Getting comfortable being around superstars was good for me. I got to learn their routines, see how they prepare for games. I got to see why all those dudes are All Stars. It’s the way they work, the way they prepare. I thought that was huge for a guy like me.
You didn’t play in many big games as a rookie—the Royals won 65 games in 2022. What was it like getting into these high-stakes games in the WBC?
I remember we were in Arizona playing against Team Mexico and Canada [in the group stage] and [my teammates saying] “This is what playoff baseball’s like.” I hadn’t experienced that at the time. But the next round against Venezuela was on a different level. I was on second base when Trea Turner hit that grand slam and the stadium was shaking while I was running around the bases. It was amazing.
You were also on the field as a pinch runner in the ninth inning of the championship game against Japan. Team USA was down 3-2. No outs. Shohei Ohtani on the mound. Mookie Betts at-bat. What was going through your mind while trotting out to first base?
I kind of felt like I was in slow motion. I said to myself, “I know Ohtani is quick to the plate. I’m probably not going to steal a base, just be smart.” I had about five or six of those little Cuban coffee shots in the dugout, so the heartbeat was going faster than it probably should have been, but it felt awesome. In my head, I'm like, "All right, Mookie's going to hit a ball in the gap. I'm going to score. Trout's going to hit him in and we're going to win. This is going to be amazing. Here we go.”
Of course it didn’t play out that way. Betts hit into a double play, then Ohtani struck out Mike Trout. Having just come off the field, were you able to catch that epic showdown?
I probably had one of the best views. I was at the end of the dugout, watching it from there. I can still kind of just see it in my head. It was crazy.
What's it like facing Ohtani as a hitter?
Yeah, that hasn’t been fun for me.
You’re 1-for-7 with five strikeouts lifetime against him.
I think my first hit against him was last year. There was a funny picture of me running around the bases, looking back at him and he was like, "Nice swing." I'm like, "I think that was the first ball I put in play against you. Thanks.”
Spring training was underway for a few weeks before Team USA assembled in Arizona this week. What’s the process like before the tournament starts on March 6? Is there a getting-to-know-you period?
Practice and then a couple of exhibition games. But we're in group chats, you're texting with them, you're playing against them for a couple years, and so you know who they are, and you know how they play the game. After that one practice and two games, we'll be running together like it's nothing.
The 2023 WBC is best remembered for that championship game. But New York Mets fans remember it for Edwin Diaz suffering a season-ending knee injury. How would you respond to fans who are wary of their team’s best players competing for something other than a World Series?
Yeah, it could happen in spring training. It could happen in practice. It could happen in a live at-bat. If you're worrying about getting injured, then you can't really go out there and play baseball. This is a bigger stage. I think it's an honor and I'll never shy away from it. These opportunities don't come every day. As a professional baseball player, these are the things you dream of.