KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Bobby Witt Jr. has been named the Kansas City Royals' Player of the Year for the fifth consecutive season, highlighting the team's 2026 award winners announced Monday.
The awards were voted on by the Kansas City chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
Witt received the Les Milgram Player of the Year Award, while right-hander Michael Wacha earned the Bruce Rice Pitcher of the Year Award. Catcher Salvador Perez was selected for the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award.
Witt, 26, became the first player in franchise history to win the team's Player of the Year award in five consecutive seasons. He has received the honor in each of his five major league seasons, including unanimous selections in 2023 and 2024.
His five awards rank second in franchise history behind Hall of Famer George Brett, who won the honor eight times.
Witt batted .281 with 18 home runs, 54 RBIs, 33 doubles and 45 stolen bases in 143 games this season. He scored 94 runs and finished with an .800 OPS.
His 45 stolen bases ranked second in the American League, while his 7.0 wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, ranked second in the majors behind Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Witt is also a finalist for the American League Silver Slugger and Gold Glove awards at shortstop, both of which he won in 2024 and 2025.
He recently became the first three-time winner of the MLB Players Alumni Association's Heart & Hustle Award, earning the honor for the third consecutive season.
Wacha, 35, earned the Royals' Pitcher of the Year award after posting a 9-10 record with a 3.32 ERA in 32 starts.
The veteran right-hander established career highs in starts, innings pitched (200 2/3) and quality starts (21). He led the American League in both innings and quality starts, becoming the third Royals pitcher to accomplish the feat, joining Bret Saberhagen in 1989 and James Shields in 2013.
Wacha also reached two career milestones during the season, making his 300th start May 31 and recording his 1,500th strikeout June 26.
He was selected to his second career All-Star Game and first since 2015, when he pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Perez, 36, received the Joe Burke Special Achievement Award for the second time in his career after another milestone-filled season.
The longtime Royals catcher hit 21 home runs and drove in 78 runs while appearing in a team-high 152 games.
Perez made franchise history July 25 in Detroit when he hit his 318th career home run, surpassing Brett's previous Royals record of 317.
He finished the season with 324 career home runs, tied with Gary Carter and Lance Parrish for fifth most in major league history among primary catchers.
The 2026 season also marked Perez's 10th with at least 20 home runs, extending his franchise record. Brett accomplished the feat eight times.
Perez, who has spent all 15 of his major league seasons with Kansas City, previously won the Joe Burke Award in 2022 and was named the team's Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021.
The nine-time All-Star is also a five-time Gold Glove winner, five-time Silver Slugger winner and the 2015 World Series Most Valuable Player. He was named the fourth captain in Royals history in 2023.