More history: Witt Jr. becomes first in 36 years to accomplish feat

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Bobby Witt Jr. keeps making history. And his latest feat hadn’t been accomplished in 36 years.

On Wednesday night, as the Kansas City Royals extended their MLB-leading win streak to five games -- their longest of the season -- Witt Jr. dashed for second base in the second inning. The stolen base registered was his 30th of the season, putting him in the 15-30 home run, stolen base club for the second consecutive year.

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According to Royals broadcaster Joel Goldberg, Witt Jr.’s stolen base helped him become one of three players in Major League Baseball history to have 15 home runs and 30 stolen bases during each of the first two years of his career. In doing so, Witt Jr. joined the esteemed company of Barry Bonds, who accomplished the feat in 1986 and 1987; and Sam Jethroe, who reached those marks in 1950 and 1951.

As a rookie, Bonds hit 16 home runs and stole 32 bases. During his second year, he hit 25 home runs and swiped 32 bases. Witt Jr. hit 20 home runs and stole 30 bases in 2022. With 53 games to play in 2023, he’s hit 18 home runs.

Bobby Witt Jr’s 30th stolen base. He becomes the 3rd player in MLB history to have 15+HR & 30+SB in each of the first two of big league career joining Sam Jethroe 1950-51 & Barry Bonds 1986-87
— Joel Goldberg (@goldbergkc) August 3, 2023

Witt Jr. reached the 15-30 mark on the same day he was named Royals Player of the Month following an impressive July that saw him have multi-hit games in 10 of the Royals’ 24 games.