Six Degrees of Bobby Witt Jr.: Connecting generations of baseball history

Bobby Witt Jr. was the second player selected in the 2019 MLB Draft, picked behind Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman.

That 2019 draft is not shaping up to be one of history’s finest. There’s Witt Jr.—and then a sizable gap to Corbin Carroll, Riley Greene, and Rutschman.

One of the greatest drafts in history was in 1985, when Bobby’s dad was selected third overall.

In 1985, the Brewers selected B.J. Surhoff first overall. He would play 19 years in the majors and collect more than 2,300 hits. The Giants then picked Will Clark. “Will the Thrill” finished in the top five in MVP balloting four different seasons. He, too, collected more than 2,000 hits and was one of the top defensive first basemen of his generation.

Bobby Witt was the third overall pick by the Texas Rangers. Witt Sr. played 16 years in the majors, pitching just under 2,500 innings while winning 142 games.

The Reds then picked a shortstop from the University of Michigan that would go on and make the Hall of Fame, Barry Larkin. Two picks later, the Giants selected an outfielder from Arizona State, Barry Bonds. Another player picked in that 1985 first round would accumulate more than 3,000 hits and hit more than 500 home runs—Rafael Palmeiro.

No player from that first-round commanded a bigger signing bonus than Witt, the third overall pick ($179,000). For context, his son, BWJ, would receive a signing bonus of close to eight million dollars.

The senior Witt was almost ahead of his time, a high-fastball strikeout pitcher before it became fashionable for anything but freakish unicorns. In 1990, Nolan Ryan led the American League with 10.2 K/9. Bobby Witt was second in the league with 8.96 K/9. Roger Clemens was third with 8.24 K/9.

In 2025, there were 13 pitchers with 140+ IP that averaged more than 10 K/9, and 37 with higher than 8.24 K/9.

I was thinking of Bobby Sr. when I looked at the upcoming Tigers/Royals game. I began thinking about a postseason game from 1996—thirty years ago—when the Rangers’ Bobby Witt started against the Yankees’ Kenny Rogers. It was Game 4 of the ALDS between the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees. The Rangers, in their first-ever postseason faced elimination against a Yankees franchise that hadn’t made the World Series in 15 years. It would prove to be the only time that Witt started a postseason game.

Kenny Rogers was a teammate of Bobby Witt with the Rangers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In fact, Rogers would get a save in five of Witt’s wins (1 in 1989, 4 in 1990).

Rogers would have a 20-year career in the majors, lasting long enough to be a one-time teammate of current Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander.

I should tell you how Rogers and Witt fared in that 1996 ALDS encounter. Neither one lasted as many as four innings. The Yankees won, with reliever David Weathers getting credit for the victory. If that name rings a bell, it’s because his son Ryan Weathers is currently in the Yankees starting rotation.

Wouldn’t it be something if the Yankees made the World Series this season, and son Ryan would join his father David in pitching for the Pinstripes in World Series play? Wouldn’t it be something if the Royals made the World Series, and Bobby Witt Jr. would join his father Bobby in playing in a World Series?

The only time in his 16-year career that Witt Sr. pitched in the World Series was at the very end. Bobby pitched for the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks. Witt’s career would end with the conclusion of that World Series. He did not enter any of the first five games. In Game 6, the Diamondbacks had a 15-2 lead after seven innings. Arizona manager Bob Brenly removed Randy Johnson and brought in Witt. After 16 major league seasons that encompassed pitching in 430 regular season games and nearly 2,500 innings, Witt finally pitched an inning in the World Series. It was barely noted by the broadcasters, who were (rightfully) focused on the upcoming Game 7 matchup between Clemens and Curt Schilling.

What matters is that Brenly’s gesture in a game long decided meant the final three outs that Witt recorded were on a World Series stage. The next night, he would be part of a championship team.

Here’s hoping his son gets that opportunity a lot sooner in his career.

Editors’ Note: Elliott Kalb - dubbed “Mr. Stats” decades ago by Marv Albert and Bob Costas - is the former Senior Editorial Director at MLB Network and a longtime contributor of research and information to NBC Sports’ telecasts.