How Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. became an MLB superstar shortstop - ESPN

THE MAGNIFICENCE OF Bobby Witt Jr. manifests itself on nearly every square inch of a baseball field. His swing is short and to the point, like the man himself, and it thwacks balls from foul pole to foul pole, often past them. His glove and arm are pocket aces — individually excellent, together almost unassailable. His legs, though, offer the greatest splendor, the apex of the Bobby Witt experience, which is unlike anything in baseball.

Witt, who turned 24 Friday, is the shortstop for the Kansas City Royals, the biggest surprise in baseball. They own the eighth-best record in the game (41-32) after going 56-106 last season, and the signature win of their season came a week before Witt's birthday. The Seattle Mariners, who occupy first place in the American League West, built an 8-0 lead. Kansas City chipped away, and up came Witt in the bottom of the eighth inning with the deficit shaved to 9-8 and a runner on second.

Before stepping into the batter's box, he had looked on the inside of his helmet, where he had written reminders on how to summon the best version of himself. See the ball. Stay loose. Be on time. They are the sorts of things that allow him to be present, something he picked up when he realized the mental element of baseball can help mobilize the physical. On a hanging 0-2 splitter from Ryne Stanek, Witt sizzled a ball down the third-base line. And then he started to run.

Less than 11 seconds later — 10.98, to be exact, because every hundredth of a second deserves mention when you run like a sprinter — Witt's right hand touched third base. Going from home plate to third base in under 11 seconds takes the sort of physical aptitude rarely seen in baseball, and it would've been even faster had Witt not