A look back at when Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. won his first Home Run Derby title

Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. will take part in his first All-Star Game this week, but it won’t be his first trip to the Midsummer Classic.

That may sound illogical, but Witt was at the 2018 All-Star Game in Washington, D.C. while he was at Colleyville (Texas) Heritage High. And, like he’ll do Monday night, Witt took part in a Home Run Derby — one for high school players.

Since making his debut with the Royals in 2022, Witt Jr. has rarely looked rattled on the field, but he was a bundle of nerves four years ago.

“I’m already jittery for it right now and I’ve got 24 more hours until I get to actually do it, or even more than that,” Witt told MLB.com at the time. “I don’t even know what time it is right now, it’s so surreal. I’m so excited and I heard the energy is awesome. Seeing it on TV, it gets loud, but being here will be something special.”

That 2018 derby was a two-day affair. The top two advanced to the final, which was held the same night as the MLB Home Run Derby. Just missing the cut as the third-place finisher was Riley Greene, who is now a star with the Detroit Tigers.

Here was Witt in the opening round ... and those prep players used metal bats.

Witt advanced to the final with Rece Hinds, who made his big-league debut with the Reds just last week. Hinds has been sensational with a .423 average, five home runs, three doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs.

So while MLB fans didn’t know it at the time, that 2018 Home Run Derby for high school players was stacked.

Witt’s father, Bobby Witt Sr., wasn’t sure his son had a chance in the competition.

“When you looked at all the guys that were out there, he was probably the smallest guy,” Witt Sr. said. “Right away, you are sitting there going, he has got no chance. But, that’s the thing about him. I think he likes being that underdog and having that opportunity to show these guys what he can do.

“The next day they did it, he made it past the first round. He ended up getting to the finals and it was him and Rece and it was showtime.”

There were more than 43,000 fans at Nationals Park to watch Hinds and Witt take part in the final. Hinds started with seven home runs in the 90-second window. Witt then cranked eight in just 76 seconds to win it.

“It was pretty impressive,” said Scott Sharp, the Royals’ senior vice president, major-league operations/assistant general manager. ”It’s just amazing, one, how thin he is and (two), how young he looks and that he is just launching balls. But his swing is just so easy. So he’s got that little little flick at the end and the ball just jumps.”

Witt said he tried to enjoy that 2018 competition and take it all in. He’ll do the same thing Monday night when he’s in the MLB All-Star Home Run Derby in his home state of Texas.

“It was a lot of fun being able to do it with a lot of guys that are playing the big leagues now,” Witt said. “Rece Hinds, we were the two finalists, and him doing what he’s doing is pretty special to see, and it’s awesome to watch.”

Includes reporting by The Star’s Jaylon Thompson