On Wednesday, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. helped Kansas City win 10-3 over the dismal Chicago White Sox, capping up a memorable July.
The AL MVP contender finished 2-for-3 at the plate, giving him 44 hits for the month. According to OptaStats, this is the most hits a player has had in a single month since Lou Gehrig (55) in June 1930.
OptaStats also reported that Witt’s July batting average (.489) is the highest since Gehrig’s.495 average 94 years ago.
Witt’s stats have skyrocketed since the All-Star break, when he competed in the Home Run Derby.
Witt has a.565 batting average and 26 hits in 46 at-bats since July 19.
If it weren’t for Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, Witt would be the clear favorite to be voted AL MVP later this season.
According to ESPN Bet, Judge (-900) is the clear favorite to win, with Witt (+550) coming in second.
Witt now leads the majors with 151 hits and a.349 batting average. Judge has a miniscule 7.5-7.2 wins above replacement (WAR) advantage against Witt (h/t FanGraphs), but the Kansas City shortstop outperforms the AL MVP frontrunner on the field.
According to FanGraphs, he has the top defensive rating in the majors, while Judge ranks 107th.
The Royals (60-49) just finished a three-game sweep of the White Sox (27-84) and will face the Tigers (52-57) in a four-game series next. They trail the Guardians (65-42) by six games in the AL Central, but with Witt on an incredible run, they should not be dismissed.
If he leads Kansas City to a division comeback over the next two months, he has a shot at the MVP award, which has long been Judge’s to lose.
