Front row seat to history
Has there ever been better back-to-back draft selections than George Brett and Mike Schmidt? Brett and Schmidt were selected back-to-back in the second round of the 1971 MLB draft, with picks number 29 and 30.
To show how unpredictable the draft (and scouting) is, in the first round Kansas City took pitcher Roy Branch while the Phillies took pitcher Roy Thomas with picks five and six. There were a few good players in the first round, primarily Frank Tanana, Jim Rice and Rick Rhoden. Ron Guidry went in the third round to the Yankees. Warren Cromartie went in the seventh round to the White Sox (but didn’t sign) and Royals fan favorite Mark Littell was selected in the 12th round. Keith Hernandez, who has Hall of Fame credentials, went to the Cardinals in the 42nd round. That was the cream of the crop of that draft, nine guys out of almost 800 selections. Three Hall of Famers and two players (Guidry and Hernandez) who are in the Hall of Very Very Good.
Brett and Schmidt’s careers were eerily similar. Brett appeared in 13 All-Star games, Schmidt 12.
They each won one World Series title, Schmidt in 1980 (against the Royals no less) while Brett won his in 1985.
Schmidt took home three MVP awards, while Brett had to settle for one. They each won their first MVP in the 1980 season.
Brett finished his career with 1,596 RBI; Schmidt had 1,595.
Brett had more hits and a higher lifetime batting average while Schmidt hit more home runs and won more gold gloves.
Schmidt played for 18 seasons worth 107 WAR. Brett’s 21 seasons were worth 87 WAR.
They were both elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and remain two of the best third basemen to ever play the game.
George set several Royals career batting records that still stand. That line is an understatement. George owns most of the Royals career batting records. 3,154 hits and a Hall of Fame career will do that for you. Two of his records that may eventually fall are his club home run record of 317. Sal Perez is currently in second place with 275, but I have my doubts that he’ll be able to squeeze 43 more dingers out of his aging body.
My money is on Bobby Witt Jr., who currently sits at 87 and is only in his age-25 season. Bobby has been averaging 27 home runs per year and would pass George’s mark in nine more seasons if he keeps that pace. Assuming the Royals keep him for the duration of his career, and they better, he’ll break the home run record.
The second record of George’s that will fall to Bobby is his extra base hit record of 1,119, which is currently 19th all-time. For context, Henry Aaron is the all-time record holder with 1,477 extra-base hits.
Bobby is currently at 229 and has averaged 71 extra base hits in his first three seasons, which is remarkable. Over his illustrious career, George averaged 56 extra-base hits in each of his full seasons. What we are witnessing from Witt Jr. is the development of a generational player. Could Bobby someday challenge Aaron’s all-time record? It’s possible, but not likely. He’d have to continue to hit at this pace for 18 more seasons, which shows you how awesome Henry Aaron was.
Speaking of the Hammer, he’s also baseball’s all-time leader in total bases with 6,856. I was surprised that it wasn’t Pete Rose, who despite playing for 24 seasons and set the all-time hit record. Despite that, Pete still only accumulated 5,752 total bases, a full 1,104 behind Aaron. Henry Aaron was some kind of hitter. George of course, is the Royals all-time leader with 5,044 total bases. Could Witt Jr. break that record? It’s very possible. Bobby already has 1,004 total bases in just over three seasons, including a club record 374 last season. Bobby would need 13 more seasons at his current pace to pass George. I’m thinking he can do it.
He’d need 19 more seasons at his current pace to pass Henry Aaron for the all-time mark. Probably won’t happen but it never hurts to dream big. Henry Aaron was some kind of hitter.
I’d never really thought about how difficult it is for a player to get 400 total bases in a season. The Royals have never had a player who got 400 total bases. Amazingly, it’s only been done 30 times. Lou Gehrig has five of those seasons. George set the original club record with 363 in his seminal 1979 season. Bobby broke that last summer. Witt Jr. certainly has the potential to garner 400 total bases. My favorite 400-base player is Hal Trosky, who tallied 405 in 1936. Trosky looks like an outlier on this list, but the Norway, Iowa native was a fantastic hitter for the Cleveland Indians before his career was derailed by migraine headaches. From 1934 to 1939, he averaged 30 home runs and 127 RBI per season. Trosky looked like he was a Hall of Famer before developing migraines.
While we were going down this rabbit hole, let’s look at other club records that Bobby could break. One would be George’s career mark of 665 doubles. Bobby is at 121 and picking up steam. He’s averaged 35 per season and at that pace would need 16 more years. Whew. That’s a heavy lift.
George is also the club record holder in triples with 137. My initial guess on this would have been Willie Wilson, who was a triple-hitting machine. Willie had 133 in a Royals uniform. Bobby has 30 triples so far in his young career. Bobby has been averaging nine triples per season and would need 12 more years of this production to pass George.
More about Bobby. There have only been nine players who have had 200 hits, 20+ home runs, 100 RBI and 30 stolen bases in a season.
- Bobby Witt Jr., 2024
- Ronald Acuna, 2023
- Jacoby Elsbury, 2011
- Vlad Guerrero, Sr., 2002
- Alfonso Soriano, 2002
- Alex Rodriguez, 1998
- Larry Walker, 1997
- Ellis Burks, 1996
- Henry Aaron, 1693
Granted, this stat doesn’t carry any significance other than it puts him in pretty good company. Players who can hit for average, with power and speed and produce runs are a very rare breed. What name jumps out at you? For me, it’s Henry Aaron.
Before his career is over, I expect that Bobby Witt Jr. will break most of the Royals career hitting records. Another that may fall is George’s career RBI record of 1,595 and George’s career batting average of .305. Junior also has a shot at Willie Wilson’s season hit record of 230, set in the glorious summer of 1980.
Who knows where Bobby will end up? He plays a physically demanding position, which could eventually take a toll. George Brett and Willie Wilson played on the fast artificial turf of Royals Stadium, which certainly helped their extra-base hit numbers. When those two hit line drives into the alley, they were destined to roll to the fence. Bobby has the disadvantage of playing on grass, which is going to cost him some bases. Relief pitchers are also better today, from top to bottom, than they were back in the 1970s and ’80s. Back then, each team might have one or two reliable bullpen arms. Today, bullpens are stacked with guys throwing 95+ MPH with wicked breaking stuff.
Naturally ,there are things that could change the course of history. Injuries for one. We’ve seen Mike Trout, one of the great talents of this generation, laid to waste by injuries. In the meantime, we are witnessing the development of what could be one of the best of our generation. Kansas City fans are familiar with dry spells of their beloved sports teams. In the last ten years, we’ve had the wind at our backs and the sun shining on our faces. We’ve relished the Chiefs dynasty led by Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, et al, and the Royals recent emergence led by Bobby Jr.
Let’s enjoy it while it lasts.