Red Sox Legend's Reason For Coming To Kansas City? Meeting Royals' Bobby Witt Jr.
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One Boston Red Sox player holds a special place in Kansas City Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr.'s baseball-loving past.
Witt grew up in Texas, but his favorite players as a kid were the New York Yankees' Derek Jeter and the Boston Red Sox's Dustin Pedroia. That might give heart palpitations to half of the Northeast, but it makes more sense when you realize that Pedroia's first professional agent was... Bobby Witt Sr.
But while Witt grew up idolizing Pedroia, he's the one millions of kids turn on their televisions to see play these days. And he got the chance to make an impact on a few kids up close this weekend, because of the beauty of the baseball circle of life.
Pedroia traveled to Kansas City this weekend to watch the Red Sox-Royals series, spending some time with his old team, but also bringing his three sons, ages 10, 12, and 15, to meet Witt in person.
“He called me last week... he was like, ‘Want me to come down?’” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “I was like, ‘It’s up to you, it’s your family.’ He came down with the boys... we had a good time yesterday with him. He’s around today.”
“He wanted to see the Red Sox but they wanted to meet Witt, too. It’s good for the kids. The kids know what’s going on. They know the good players and the bad managers.”
Pedroia spends a lot of his time coaching his sons now that he's retired, which he did officially in 2021 after knee injuries cut his career short at age 37.
The four-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion was a great role model for young ballplayers, but now that he can't take the field himself anymore, Witt is a phenomenal example to show his boys.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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