KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Major League Baseball tonight announced its First and Second All-MLB Teams. Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. was named First Team All-MLB at shortstop for the third consecutive season.
Major League Baseball introduced the All-MLB Team Awards in 2019 to give a more comprehensive honor that covered the full breadth of a season, complementing the All-Star Game selections that are awarded just past the season’s halfway point. Voters were asked only to consider performance during the regular season when casting their ballots. Fans accounted for 50% of the voting for the All-MLB Team, with a panel of experts taking the other 50%.
Witt Jr.’s three First Team All-MLB Awards are the most among shortstops, ahead of Fernando Tatis Jr. (2), Corey Seager (1), Trea Turner (1) and Xander Bogaerts (1).
Witt Jr., 26, slashed .281/.359/.441 (157-for-558) this season with 94 runs, 33 doubles, 18 home runs, 54 RBI, 45 stolen bases and an .800 OPS in 143 games. He ranked among the American League leaders in stolen bases (2nd), doubles (T-6th), hits (9th), runs (9th) and batting average (T-9th) and his 7.0 fWAR ranked 2nd in the Majors, trailing only Pete Crow-Armstrong (10.6).
Earlier this month, he was named a finalist for the Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award at shortstop, an honor he won each of the last two seasons (2024-25). Should he win again for 2026, he would be the first American League shortstop to earn the honor in three straight seasons since Derek Jeter (2006-09).
Witt Jr. ranked 3rd in the Majors and led the American League with 24 Outs Above Average, according to Baseball Savant, and was a finalist for the Rawlings Gold Glove Award after winning the honor each of the last two seasons (2024-25).
Witt Jr. is the first Royals player to hit at least 10 home runs in each of his first five seasons and the first player in Major League history with at least 10 HR and 25 stolen bases in each of his first five seasons. He’s the fourth player in the Modern Era (since 1900) with at least 30 steals in each of his first five seasons, joining Ichiro Suzuki (2001-05), Vince Coleman (1985-89) and Rickey Henderson (1979-83), who owns the Major League record (1st 15 seasons).