In one of the true great American debates, Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has taken his stance.

It’s Whataburger over In-N-Out. Regardless of what his West Coast teammates say.

“They’re always on me, like In-N-Out is better, this and that,” Witt said. “I don’t really give them time of day. I know in my heart what I taste.”

For the next two weeks, Witt’s focus will be on the World Baseball Classic instead of hamburgers and combo meals. Team USA has its eyes on winning the WBC championship trophy, and completing that goal would help close a chapter and put an exclamation point on a core memory. Witt was a 22-year-old infielder and the youngest member of the 2023 WBC team that finished as the runner-up to Japan.

Still, Whataburger will always have a special place in the heart of the two-time Major League Baseball All-Star. Being from Colleyville, Texas, Witt often frequents the burger chain with the Texas roots. He’s so committed that his wedding in 2024 was Whataburger-themed, featuring a replica restaurant they called “Wittaburger.”

“I grew up on it after baseball games, going there as a team,” Witt said. “We called it Wittaburger growing up because we’d go there so much, and then ended up having a Wittaburger wedding.”

Witt’s burger preferences are a secondary thought for the first part of March, as the United States prepares for Brazil in its first pool-play WBC game Thursday in Houston. What’s currently on his mind: Team USA hasn’t won the tournament since 2017.

Witt, now 25, hopes to add that accolade to his growing list of baseball achievements. He’s been an All-Star in each of the last two MLB seasons, and he’s won consecutive Gold Glove Awards and Silver Slugger Awards. He also was the 2024 American League batting champion.

He was a reserve infielder on the United States team in 2023. Returning to play this year, he said, was an easy decision.

“I know last time, I did what I could,” Witt said of the 2023 experience. “Then, I was just a part of it and learned so much from it, not only through the Team USA side of it but also just as a baseball player itself, being around those all stars, those legends. I know now more than ever, everyone wants to win.”

Bobby Witt Jr. was a 22-year-old infielder for Team USA during the World Baseball Classic in 2023. (Eric Espada / Getty Images)

Winning the WBC, Witt said, can be the start of what he believes can be a good baseball season. The Royals have 10 players who make up Team USA’s 40-man roster for the tournament. Last season, Kansas City finished 82-80, six games behind the AL Central champion Cleveland Guardians. The Royals lost to the New York Yankees in the 2024 ALDS after sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in the wild-card round.

The No. 2 pick of the 2019 MLB Draft, Witt said this is “the best feeling” he’s had going into a season with the Royals based on the players in the clubhouse and how the team believes in its goals.

“That’s not only to go out there and try to win every day, but to be playing late into October,” Witt said. “That’s the mindset, and everyone’s urgent with that. They know that there’s a sense of urgency that needs to happen because of the team we have now. Everyone loves that and is buying into that, and you can just tell by the way guys are working, how early guys showed up to camp, they’re ready to rock.”

If he isn’t on the field, Witt can be found honing his skills playing baseball video games. He serves as an athlete ambassador for MLB The Show 26 and also does his part to make the video game marketable. He admitted to adjusting the skill sliders for himself once he was in the game and added that he likes making the game about offense.

He prefers playing against people in-person instead of online and said Royals teammate Vinnie Pasquantino is “really good.” Witt still remembers the days waiting on the game when he was younger for the sole purpose of finding out which athlete is on the cover. Yankees star Aaron Judge is the cover athlete for this year’s version of the game.

“When it came out,” Witt said, “just getting the game and getting home from school … playing the game and my mom yelling at me, ‘All right, dinner’s ready!’”

No word on if Witt celebrates video-game victories with food from Whataburger, but that could happen soon. Perhaps after winning the WBC trophy with his Team USA teammates.