Bobby Witt Jr. becomes first Royal to reach 30-30 mark

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Bobby Witt Jr. became the first player in Royals history to reach the 30-30 club on Friday night.

Witt Jr. hit a home run off Keynan Middleton in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Royals a 12-5 lead over the Yankees. The blast gave him 30 home runs on the season. He was already well past 30 stolen bases, with 49 to his name this season.

Witt Jr. reached the accomplishment with in the third-to-last game of a season the Royals remain on pace to break their franchise record for losses in.

READ MORE: Bobby Witt Jr. joins rare company — again — as impressive season continues

His outstanding season has been one of the lone bright spots for the Royals. Despite not being named to the All-Star team in July, Witt Jr. has produced one of the best seasons for a shortstop in league history.

The Friday night home run gave Witt Jr. his 95th and 96th RBIs of the season. He joins Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna as one of two players in the league with 30 home runs and 40-plus stolen bases this season. Acuna became the first player in MLB history to reach the 40 home run, 70 stolen base club earlier this week.

Witt became just the fifth shortstop in Major League Baseball history with at least 25 homers and 35 steals in August. He’s one stolen base shy of a 30-home run, 50-stolen base season. Only Ronald Acuna, Barry Bonds and Eric Davis have ever reached that accomplishment.