KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When Bobby Witt Jr. was selected second overall by the Royals in the 2019 MLB draft, Jim Callis of MLB.com declared he would be “to the Royals what Patrick Mahomes is to the Chiefs.”
Many a skeptic responded to that sound bite sent out via X (Twitter) by Dani Welniak, the former KCTV-5 reporter (who now is vice president of communications for the Kansas City Current).
One guy in particular, though, encouraged the point:
“Lets get it ! @BwittJr @Royals,” Mahomes wrote in a quote tweet of Dani’s post.
From then on, Mahomes has been an advocate for and admirer of Witt — with whom he shares a Texas background, fathers who had long MLB careers, personal training with Bobby Stroupe either directly or through the Stroupe-founded Athletic Performance Enhancement Center and numerous personal traits that Stroupe outlined to me a few years ago.
That sense of connection between them never has resonated more than now as Witt’s breakout season has, in fact, inspired comparisons of Mahomes’ impact on the Chiefs.
But Mahomes pretty well has anticipated this all along.
At least in terms of expressing support for Witt, the most recent example of which was delivered Friday — which we’re saving for the end of this column.
Along the way, virtually every one of Witt’s ever-burgeoning landmark moments has been lauded by Mahomes, whether publicly or directly. He checks in about the little things, too.
While the Chiefs were making their playoff run toward a Super Bowl repeat last season, Mahomes texted Witt simply about seeing his offseason workouts online.
“I’m like, ‘Wow,’ showing my fiancee who just texted me,” Witt, who considers Mahomes a role model, said at Royals Rally at Kauffman Stadium in February.
Mahomes congratulated him on X when Witt joined the 30 home run/30 stolen-base club last season, for instance.
After Witt nearly won the Home Run Derby a few weeks ago, Mahomes told us here at the Chiefs’ Missouri Western training camp that he was “excited for the world to see his talent.”
And when Witt signed his long-term contract extension during Super Bowl week, Mahomes was “pretty fired up,” as Witt put it at a news conference that week, and texted “I can’t wait to see what you do for the city and what’s to come.”
The future suddenly seems to be now, as Witt’s transcendent play has been pivotal to the Royals’ resurgent season.
