Bobby Witt Jr. wins American League Platinum Glove Award

The Kansas City Royals endured a disappointing campaign in 2025. After snapping an eight-year postseason drought in 2024, Kansas City missed the playoffs once again. Fortunately, Royals fans got to enjoy another strong season Bobby Witt Jr. The Kansas City All-Star shortstop has a rare power/speed combination. I Witt always dazzles defensively.

The fourth-year pro won his second straight Gold Glove in 2025. And on Friday, Rawlings announced that Witt was awarded the American League Platinum Glove, per Talkin’ Baseball.

The Platinum Glove honors the best defensive player in each league, regardless of position. Two winners are selected from among the season’s Gold Glove winners via fan voting. Witt won his first Platinum Glove this year. San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. represented the National League, winning the award for the second time in three years.

Bobby Witt Jr. dazzles in a down year for the Royals

Witt tied Chicago Cubs center fielder Pete Crowe-Armstrong with a major league-leading +24 Outs Above Averagevia Baseball Savant. And his 23.6 Defensive Runs Above Average (Def) was tops among non-catchers according to FanGraphs.

Witt’s offensive production is down slightly from 2024, when he finished second in AL MVP voting. However, his strong defense helped him finish third in the American League with 7.1 bVAR. Witt trailed only MVP leaders Aaron Judge (9.7) and Cal Raleigh (7.4).

While the two-time All-Star was off his outstanding 2024 pace, he still had a phenomenal season. Witt made history as the first player ever to hit 15 home runs and 25 stolen bases in each of his first four seasons. He finished with 23 homers and 38 steals, along with 88 RBI and 99 runs, while leading in hits (184) and doubles (47).

Whit also reached a personal milestone100th place of this season in his career. He became only third player in MLB history with 20 multi-stolen games and 100 homers before hitting 600 games. Only Eric Davis and Henley Ramirez managed to do so.

Despite Witt’s tremendous effort, the Royals were eliminated from the playoffs. Kansas City went 82-80, falling five games short of a Wild Card berth. It’s a disappointment after last year’s postseason run. In 2024, the Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the ALVCS. The team then lost to the New York Yankees in the division series