Witt's five-tool community impact earns Roberto Clemente Award nomination

This story was excerpted from Anne Rogers’ Royals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. Reporter/producer Jackson Stone wrote this edition.

KANSAS CITY -- There’s little Bobby Witt Jr. can’t do on a baseball field, and that’s translated off the field as well as the superstar has made Kansas City his home.

For the second straight season, Witt is the Royals’ Roberto Clemente Award nominee, one of the most prestigious individual honors bestowed upon Major Leaguers who best represent baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions both on and off the field.

• VOTE NOW: 2026 Roberto Clemente Award presented by Capital One

Each team has a nominee and fans can vote for a winner through Sunday. The winner will be honored with a presentation during the World Series.

“It’s an honor just to be able to put my name next to something to do with Roberto Clemente, for what he was not only as a baseball player, but what he did off the field for his community, for Puerto Rico, for Pittsburgh. It’s really special to be honored,” Witt said.

And just like Witt’s five-tool ability on the field, he is the same off the field, representing a multitude of causes to help those in the Kansas City area.

One that Witt has been most proud of this season is his role as a committed advocate for the fight against amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), more commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease. Royals fans are familiar with superfan Sarah Nauser, whose Sarah’s Soldier's foundation, which is backed by the Kansas City Royals, helps families in need get financial assistance for medical equipment and care to battle ALS.

Witt, along with Michael Massey, raised awareness for Nauser’s fight with ALS on Players’ Weekend this season by wearing custom cleats and swinging custom bats featuring the Sarah’s Soldier's logo and Fight Like a Girl motto.

“I think [Nauser] was the person that impacted me the most on ALS,” Witt said. “... And after meeting Sarah, just how much she meant and hearing her story with Kansas City and what she wanted to do [to help others], what he dream was and how much she was fighting -- and one of our biggest fans -- it’s something that I wanted to do to just help her find a cure for ALS.”

Last season, the Royals gifted Nauser a new custom wheelchair that she can control with her eyes for Lou Gehrig Day. Witt has also hosted clinics to support Susanna Smiles and the Team Hilliard Foundation, helping raise more than $150,000 to support the fight against ALS.

His love for the game also led to his selection as MLB’s first PLAY BALL Ambassador in 2025, a position that allows him to inspire young athletes to participate in baseball and softball.

“It’s been great. Being the first in something in baseball is always special, and being able to do what and give back to kids, like, that’s who I was 10-15 years ago,” Witt said. “I was a kid that dreamed of playing in the big leagues, so to try and help that next generation -- to help one extra kid get to the big leagues, whatever it is -- [I want to] try and help fulfill their dreams.”

Witt is also a major player as a Royals Literacy League Classroom Champion, a program launched four years ago by the Kansas City Royals Foundation in partnership with the Sherman Family Foundation, SchoolSmart KC and nine Kansas City public and charter schools in the area. The goal is to raise literacy rates, build excitement around reading with elementary-aged students and support teachers.

The three-time All-Star has a lot of fun with this one, dropping into classrooms and surprising kids -- even teaching them his signature “Bobby Breath” to stay calm in stressful situations.

“The teachers in the area have been great with us, and being able to use our platform to build kids’ reading skills, build them overall, it’s been a lot of fun,” Witt said. “It’s been special to see the kids and the smiles that this puts on their faces.”

This work helped Witt earn him the 2025 Lou Gehrig Award earlier this season, an honor given to a player who best exemplifies the giving character of Hall of Famer Lou Gehrig. The only other Royals to win that award are George Brett (1986) and Salvador Perez (2021).

Back on the field, Witt is also a two-time MLBPAA Heart and Hustle Award winner. Combined with everything he does off the field, it was a no-brainer for Witt to earn his second consecutive Roberto Clemente Award nomination.

“Selfless, humble, exceptionally hardworking, caring, all the things that embody that award, right?” manager Matt Quatraro said about Witt. “When you think about Clemente, and what I have learned about him over the years … what he meant, what he stood for as a person and a family man -- Bobby is all of those things.”