Bobby Witt Jr. goes viral for ‘Backyard Baseball’-themed bat
Jul 21, 2020; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt (90) leads off from first base against the Houston Astros at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Bobby Witt Jr. is truly a man of the people.
The Kansas City Royals star shortstop Witt is celebrating this year’s annual Players Weekend in style. An image of Witt rocking a legendary custom bat made the rounds online on Friday. Witt’s bat featured the incomparable Pablo Sanchez of “Backyard Baseball” fame.
Take a look below.
Bobby Witt Jr. has a custom Backyard Baseball bat with Pablo Sanchez on it for #PlayersWeekend pic.twitter.com/6SaxLGGN10
— MLB (@MLB) August 16, 2024
The star of the “Backyard Sports” video game series, Sanchez, despite his diminutive stature and only being about 10 years old, remains an indelible cultural icon. With his signature backwards baseball cap and his maxed-out hitting and fielding attributes, Sanchez still carries an aura that is right on par with “Tecmo Bowl” Bo Jackson and “Madden NFL 2004” Michael Vick. That is especially true nowadays too with the recent rumors that “Backyard Baseball” may be making a comeback.
As for Witt, who just earned his first career All-Star selection, he was born in 2000, so he wasn’t quite around yet when Sanchez and “Backyard Baseball” first debuted in 1997. But Witt’s cultural literacy is clearly very strong, and he himself has exhibited Pablo Sanchez-esque power on occasion.