Bobby Witt Jr. wins American League, MLB batting titles

Bobby Baseball can hit!

Bobby Witt Jr. went 1-for-4 in the season finale in Atlanta to finish with a batting average of .332, tops in the American League and the top average in all of baseball this season. It is just the fifth time a Royals hitter has won a batting title, joining George Brett in 1976, 1980, and 1990, and Willie Wilson in 1982. Brett in 1980 and Wilson are the only other Royals to lead the majors in batting.

Bobby also led the majors in hits with 211 and was near the top of other offensive leaderboards as he became the first shortstop to record multiple 30/30 seasons. He finished third in baseball in runs scored with 125, tied for second in doubles with 45, third in triples with 11, sixth in on-base percentage at .389, and third in slugging percentage at .588.

His season was also historic in club history in many respects. Witt’s 211 hits are the fifth most in a season by a Royals hitter and he scored the third-most runs in a season. He hit the seventh-most doubles in a season by a Royals hitter, his 32 home runs are the 10th-most in club history, and his .588 slugging percentage is eclipsed by just Brett in 1980 (.664) and Danny Tartabull in 1991 (.593).

Bobby is expected to be a near-unanimous second selection for AL MVP behind only Aaron Judge, who is having an historic season. If that happens, Witt will have one of the best seasons ever by a player to not win MVP.

Luis Arraez of the Padres won the batting title in the National League, his third with three different teams, the first time that has happened. He held on to the batting title on the final day to edge Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, depriving him of a Triple Crown.