A Quietly Superb Summer

BWJ's greatness is going overlooked

Photo courtesy of AP/Josh Boland

Last year’s American League MVP runner-up seems to go unnoticed. He operates in the shadows of Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh, the former a once-in-a-generation slugger, the latter a breakout star with a once-in-a-lifetime nickname.

Playing under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium, Judge’s feats deserve the accolades. He’s racked up 7.5 fWAR, entirely on the back of his offensive prowess, with 41 homers on top of a Bondsian .323/.439/.668 slash.

On the other side of the country, Raleigh plays the majority of his games after Judge’s fans are asleep. We wake up to see that, yes, he’s homered again, now with 50 on the season to eclipse Salvador Perez’s record of 48 in a season for a primary catcher.

But in-between is Bobby Witt Jr., who’s slugging, scooping and sprinting his way to another standout season, contributing to the Royals’ second-half turnaround with the bat, glove and baserunning. It’s a full package Judge and Raleigh can’t match, even if their all-world numbers at the dish leave the rest of the league in awe.

And even if a bronze medal in the AL MVP race is all but written in stone, it’s past time for a bit of appreciation.

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