A platinum glove winner, three-time All-Star and two-time recipient of the Heart and Hustle Award, Bobby Witt Jr.'s incredible talent is on display not only at Kauffman Stadium, but throughout our Kansas City community.
There is not a day that Bobby is not making an impact, often making it a part of his daily routine like the special visits to children or other fans with life threatening or chronic illnesses. His extensive community involvement helped him earn the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award earlier this season.
Bobby is a dedicated advocate for organizations raising awareness and helping fight ALS. The past three seasons, he has hosted clinics for more than 400 local youth, supporting philanthropic groups such as Susanna Smiles, Sarah’s Soldiers and the Team Hilliard Foundation. Through these efforts, more than $150,000 has been publicly raised to support the fight against ALS.
Most recently, in June, Bobby hosted a youth camp in partnership with ProCamps and CommunityAmerica. The collaborating support of Bobby and CommunityAmerica provided proceeds from the camps to families impacted by tragedy or illness in collaboration with Susanna Smiles. Susanna Smiles supports families with children facing hardship caused by critical illness or loss of a parent to help lessen the burden and aid prosperity for families.
In addition, he has taken his talents from the diamond to the links in support of the Team Hilliard Foundation Golf Tournament to help raise awareness and funds for ALS research. Each year, on Lou Gehrig Day, Bobby helps to organize a suite and ballpark experiences to honor all those impacted by ALS.
His passion, energy and love for the game tabbed Bobby as the first-ever PLAY BALL Ambassador in 2025. As part of his ambassadorship, Bobby continues to be featured across PLAY BALL and MLB media providing tips and answering questions to help in MLB’s efforts to encourage youth participation in baseball and softball while inspiring the next generation of players and fans.
Bobby is not only inspiring youth on the field through numerous camps and clinics but also in the classroom. He has worked with local youth to help increase literacy rates in the Kansas City Metro as a Royals Literacy League Classroom Champion. Bobby was one of the first to step forward and recently completed his third year championing this program that was launched by the Kansas City Royals Foundation and local partners to build excitement around reading and literacy in elementary-aged students in public schools in Kansas City. Bobby inspires both students and faculty to strive to be their best. He regularly visits his classroom, and is on a first-name basis with many of the students, all while building excitement for and sharing the importance of reading. Efforts from Bobby’s inspiration and other program assets have helped to increase literacy scores by over 8% within the last year of literacy league classrooms.
The inspiration he provides has carried beyond the coursework by providing life lessons and ways to combat stress through his Bobby Breath. Before stepping into the box, you will often find Bobby taking a deep breath to clear his mind, relax and refocus. Many of his students now do the same before exams or during other stressful situations in the classroom and life.
Bobby Witt Jr. is the model for baseball and softball players from all generations. The way that he carries himself on and off the field provides an example for not only his teammates and other players in league, but also for the local and national youth. He provides guidance and inspiration that empowers others to live happier, healthier and more fulfilling lives.
