Bobby Witt Jr., the young superstar Royals shortstop, paused and smiled at the question.
“Have you thought at all what it’s going to be like,” he was asked, “to take the same field in a playoff game where Derek Jeter won a World Series? “
“Just kind of gives me chills thinking about it,” Witt said Friday, as the Yankees and Royals met the media on the eve of their ALDS series that kicks off in The Bronx on Saturday night.
Jeter, Witt recalled, was “his guy” growing up, the player he idolized, along with Red Sox star Dustin Pedroia.
A Jeter jersey still hangs in his old room in his parents’ house, he said.
To prepare for what to expect this weekend, Witt watched some old playoff highlights of Jeter on Thursday night.
“Definitely going to take it all in because everyone talks about playoff baseball in New York,” he said. “So it’s going to be pretty special just being out here and just hearing the crowd and just how much history is behind here and everything.”
The 24-year-old Witt was a driving force behind the Royals returning to the postseason for the first time since winning the World Series nine years ago, going from 106 losses a season ago to the playoffs.
In his third year in the big leagues, he enjoyed a breakout campaign as a first-time All-Star and projected MVP finalist behind Aaron Judge.
He slashed a robust .332/.389/.588 with 32 home runs, 31 stolen bases and 109 RBIs while playing a sterling shortstop.
Like many Royals, the postseason is new to Witt.
It didn’t look like it in their sweep of the Orioles in the wild-card round, Witt driving in the game-winning runs in both contests.
“Looking forward to seeing him in this next series,” right-hander Michael Wacha, who will start Game 1 on Saturday, said. “He seemed unfazed in his first postseason games there in Baltimore.”
The second-overall pick in the 2019 draft, Witt has had plenty of people to lean on to prepare for his first trip to the playoffs.
There is his father, Bobby Witt Sr., who pitched 16 seasons in the big leagues and won it all with the Diamondbacks in 2001 — over the Yankees in a memorable World Series.
Veteran catcher Salvador Perez, the lone holdover from the 2015 champions.
And Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The two are close, and Witt has used Mahomes’ brilliance on his sport’s biggest stage — he has won three Super Bowls — as inspiration.
“Whenever those big games come up, he takes the next step up,” said Witt, the American League batting champion. “It’s not trying to do too much, do too little. It’s just how he is, he’s a competitor. He wants to win, that’s how I try to approach things. I just want to win, just try to do everything I can.”
If the Royals are going to knock off the heavily favored Yankees, Witt will most likely need to have a big series.
The Yankees won the season series, 5-2, over Kansas City and took two out of three in The Bronx Sept 9-11. Witt was held in check in that series, limited to one extra-base hit in 14 at-bats.
The stakes will be considerably higher starting on Saturday against reigning AL Cy Young award winner Gerrit Cole.
“This is the fun part of the game, being able to go up against a guy like him and being able to compete,” Witt said. “This is what you kind of dream of growing up. You want to face that guy. You want to face the ace. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”