Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Tim Capurso

Royals Fans Were So Mad After Bobby Witt Jr. Got Hit While Going for Cycle

Jul 22, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) reacts after being hit by a pitch during the sixth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports | Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

The Kansas City Royals and their fans were livid after shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was hit by a pitch just a hit away from the cycle during the club's 10-4 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday at Kauffman Stadium.

Witt, who had tripled in the first inning, doubled in the third and homered in the fourth, stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning needing just a single to complete the cycle. Instead, Witt was plunked in the side by Diamondbacks righthander Humberto Castellanos.

Royals fans rained thunderous boos down on the Diamondbacks, just as Royals catcher Salvador Perez shouted at the opposing club from the top step of the Kansas City dugout, and Witt slowly walked up the first base line.

Just a half-inning later in the top of the seventh, Royals righthander John Schreiber plunked Diamondbacks catcher Gabriel Moreno, leading to a warning from home plate umpire Jordan Baker to both dugouts, and then an ejection of Arizona manager Torey Lovullo. Perez even had some words for Lovullo during his heated exchange with Baker.

Witt, in his final plate appearance of the game, flied out to right field, missing out on the cycle but earning a standing ovation from the home crowd.

After the game, Perez said he wasn't a fan of the optics of the situation.

“I don’t like the way it looks, honest to you guys,” Perez said. “Three-for-three, trying to get a hit for the cycle. … I’m going to have Junior’s back.”

Lovullo denied there was any intent to hit Witt.

“What I said was: 'If you think in your right mind that I was going to ask our team to hit the future of Major League Baseball, one of the best players in Major League Baseball, you’re crazy,'” Lovullo said. “And you’ve lost control of this situation. And you got it wrong.

"That’s what I said to [home-plate umpire] Jordan Baker, and I wanted Salvy to hear that. I wanted him to take it back to their dugout and make sure that he understood that that’s how I felt. And that’s how I feel about Bobby Witt Jr. He’s an unbelievable player.”

Royals manager Matt Quatraro then also denied there was any intent on Kansas City's part to hit Moreno.

Witt, an All-Star for the first time and the major league leader in hits, is enjoying a career year in his age-24 season, having posted a .341/.387/.592 slash line with 18 home runs, 69 RBI, 82 runs scored and 22 stolen bases.

The Royals and Diamondbacks play each other two more times in the series, on Tuesday and Wednesday.


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Royals Fans Were So Mad After Bobby Witt Jr. Got Hit While Going for Cycle.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.