Bobby Witt Jr.'s 100th Career Home Run Put Him in Elite MLB Company

Bobby Witt Jr. knew the ball was gone the moment it left his bat.

Only later did the young Kansas City Royals star realize what kind of company it allowed him to join.

The latest no-doubt shot, which came off Texas reliever Cole Winn and landed an estimated 449 feet to dead center field, made Witt only the fourth player with at least 100 homers and 100 stolen bases through his first four big league seasons. The others are Julio Rodríguez, Darryl Strawberry and Bobby Bonds — some pretty select company.

The two-run shot in the eighth inning against Texas on Tuesday night merely padded the lead for Kansas City, which went on to a 5-2 victory. It was the fifth straight win for the Royals, who closed to within 2.5 games of an AL wild-card berth.

The home run also made Witt the youngest in franchise history to reach the 100-homer mark. He made it at the age of 25 years, 66 days, faster than Carlos Beltran when he accomplished it during the 2003 season. In addition, just 17 players have ever hit 100 homers while with the Royals: Hall of Famer George Brett is the franchise leader, at 317, with Witt's teammate, Salvador Perez, in second at 295.

"I want him up there every inning," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Witt. "I mean, you look at the lineup and you're trying to figure out, ‘How many times can we get to the plate? How many guys can we keep on base for him when he does come to the plate?'

"I mean, that's an immense amount of pressure on a younger player to understand that's how everybody feels about him," Quatraro said. "But he has the physical ability, the makeup and the mental capacity to handle it."

Witt also become one of six shortstops in the last 95 years to hit at least 100 homers through his age-25 seasons.