Bobby Witt Jr. learned plenty about himself throughout the 2026 season. But if there’s one thing that hasn’t changed, it’s his desire to keep getting better.
“I think I'm going to look back at [this season] next year, two years, three years down the road and be like, ‘Wow, I learned a lot from 2026,’" Witt said recently. “... I still think there's a lot more that I feel like I didn't leave on the table, but I can get to.”
That growth came during another MVP-caliber season for the Royals shortstop, who finished third in American League Most Valuable Player Award voting Thursday night, determined by the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Houston’s Yordan Alvarez won the award unanimously, while Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero finished second. Witt received 188 points, including two second-place votes and 11 third-place votes. He finished ahead of New York’s Cam Schlittler (181), who won the AL Cy Young Award on Wednesday night.
The finish marks Witt's third consecutive year among the top five in AL MVP voting, after placing second behind Yankees star Aaron Judge in 2024 and fourth in '25.
Witt's latest MVP finish follows his third consecutive All-MLB First Team selection at shortstop and his third MLBPAA's Heart & Hustle Award -- he’s the first player to earn the latter honor three times.
Injuries limited Witt to a career-low 143 games, but he still accumulated 7.0 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, the highest total in the AL and second in the Majors behind Cubs outfielder and NL MVP Pete Crow-Armstrong (10.6).
Witt slashed .281/.359/.441 with 18 home runs, 33 doubles and 94 runs scored. The 26-year-old's batting average, slugging percentage and doubles total were the highest among qualified AL shortstops.
Although he didn’t replicate the offensive production of his previous two seasons, Witt showed improvement in his approach at the plate. His career-high 67 walks were 18 more than he drew in 2025, contributing to an increase in his on-base percentage from .351 to .359.
Getting on base gave Witt more opportunities to put his speed to use.
Witt stole 45 bases, second most in the AL, while averaging an elite 30.1 feet per second in sprint speed, according to Statcast. Witt also advanced an extra base on 66.7% of his opportunities, according to Baseball-Reference. He scored 94 runs for a Royals offense that ranked 22nd in the Majors with 690 runs scored.
Defensively, Witt continued to make plays that few others can.
His +24 outs above average led all Major League shortstops and ranked third among all fielders. Witt reached that total in 14 fewer games than in 2025, while his +17 fielding run value matched Cardinals shortstop Masyn Winn for the highest mark at the position.
For manager Matt Quatraro, those plays are a product of Witt's preparation. Whether the star shortstop is taking ground balls or tracking down fly balls during batting practice, Witt looks for opportunities to practice plays he might encounter in a game.
"For him, it's just playing baseball and going to have fun like a kid," Quatraro said on Monday.
Witt's all-around production was especially notable given the physical challenges he faced throughout the year, including his first career stint on the injured list because of back tightness.
But those challenges are what provided opportunities for growth.
Quatraro noted that Witt grew more comfortable communicating with the coaching staff when he needed rest, rather than attempting to play through discomfort as he might have in previous years.
"That was a huge step forward in his own personal development and something that showed me that he's continuing to grow," Quatraro said.
And as Witt looks ahead to another season, the Royals remain focused on surrounding their franchise shortstop with the pieces needed to return to the postseason.
"When you have a player like that who's in his prime years, you want to do everything you can to capitalize on those years and put a good core around him and win baseball games," general manager J.J. Picollo said on Tuesday.
“When you have a star like that, you know you feel the need to compete every year, regardless of what you may have gone through the year before.”