KANSAS CITY, Mo. — On Tuesday, May 6, the Kansas City Royals found themselves tied 3-3 in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out and the bases loaded. That was before their superstar shortstop stepped in the box.
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Bobby Witt Jr. then hit a deep fly ball to centerfield, driving in the game-winning run to move the Royals to five games over .500, 21-16.
Wednesday morning, though, ahead of the third game of Kansas City’s series against the Chicago White Sox, Witt Jr. took to downtown KC to support the community in another way. He made a visit to Crossroads Charter School in Quality Hill to encourage students to keep reading as part of the Royals Literacy League.
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The visit was a treat for students, who said they learned a lot about the benefits of reading and about Bobby Witt Jr.’s work ethic.
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“I thought it was really cool. My family said they were going to try to wait outside my school to see him, and they were really jealous. But I’m just so grateful I got to do that,” said student Heidi Staley.
“He works really hard to be able to do the stuff that he can do. Like working really hard to get drafted to the Kansas City Royals.”
Others said that Witt Jr.’s play on the field was inspiring, but his passion for reading and literacy made a lasting impression as well.
“It was very cool to see a player as important as Bobby Witt Jr. in our classroom,” said student Alden Truesdell-Kinkeade. “He is such an amazing player out in the field. I admire him very much.
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“You can always put in enough effort to whatever you want to do in life. I learned reading can help you become very educated and very helpful with others, and you can go a lot of places if you have strong reading.”
The visit, along with Witt Jr.’s continued presence in the Kansas City community, proves that he’s committed to the Royals and the city they call home. Just before the season started, Witt Jr. wrote in an article for the Players’ Tribune, “I feel like God put me here on this Earth to play baseball in Kansas City.”
“It’s a sense of pride to have a huge baseball star come in and care about them and their reading, and what their doing is just fantastic,” said Shannon Reasby, a literacy coach at Crossroads Charter.
“The Royals have done so much for our schools. And Bobby Witt Jr. is an amazing, outstanding person to come in and spend his time, precious time to see us here at Crossroads Quality Hill is amazing.”
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Witt Jr. was at the school from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. He answered questions from students and taught them that reading has benefits in all facets of life.
On Wednesday night, he and the Royals will take on the Chicago White Sox again for the third of four games against the club at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals are looking to take the series after winning the first two games of the series.
Right-hander Michael Wacha (1-4, 3.52 ERA) will take the mound against righty Jonathan Cannon (2-3, 4.26 ERA).
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