Kansas City, Missouri: Bobby Witt Jr. Wins Third Straight Heart and Hustle Award, a First for the Honor

Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. has won the Heart and Hustle Award for the third straight year, and he is the first player to win it three times. The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association announced Witt as the 2026 overall winner on Friday.

The Heart and Hustle Award was created by the alumni association in 2005. It is presented each year to an active player who, in the association's words, demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game. It is the only major league award voted on by former players, with fans and active players also taking part in the final vote.

Each of the 30 teams has one nominee, selected by a committee of former players with ties to that club. Witt has been the Kansas City nominee again this year, and the overall winner is chosen from the 30 nominees. Witt addressed the honor during an appearance on MLB Network's Hot Stove program on Friday, according to Wire Report.

Past Biggio, into a spot of his own

Witt won the overall award in 2024 and again in 2025. Before this year, he was tied with Hall of Famer Craig Biggio as the only players to win it twice. Biggio won in 2006 and 2007 with Houston. A third straight win moves Witt past Biggio and gives him a record no other player holds in the 21 years since the award began.

The honor reached Witt in the same week he missed out on another one. On Sunday, Tampa Bay's Taylor Walls won the American League Gold Glove at shortstop, the position Witt plays every day for Kansas City. The alumni vote measures a different part of the game: how a player works, how he plays day to day, and how former players judge his respect for the sport. On that measure, the former players have now chosen Witt three years in a row.

An award with a working player's history

The first Heart and Hustle winner was David Eckstein in 2005. The winners since include Albert Pujols, Roy Halladay, Torii Hunter, Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Paul Goldschmidt. Marcus Semien won in 2023, the year before Witt began his run of three.

Witt made his major league debut in April 2022, so the three wins came in his third, fourth and fifth major league seasons. For Kansas City, the award gives the club's central player one more honor decided by the men who played the game before him.