Sharing The Spotlight

Kansas City Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr. just put together a dominant four games of baseball at Kauffman Stadium in a four-game sweep of the Athletics this week.

But what stood out to me more than any play was a leadership moment.

After completing a comeback Tuesday with a walk-off hit, Witt said yes to a live postgame interview with my broadcast teammate Bridget Howard, but also chose to bring the winning pitcher with him.

Carlos Duran is a 25-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic who had been acquired in a trade just 15 days earlier and called up from the minor leagues that day. He was brand new to the Royals clubhouse, pitching in only his second major league game.

The Royals scored three runs in the ninth inning, giving Duran his first career win. Bobby wanted to make sure he got his moment. As the 6-foot-8 Duran enthusiastically answered Bridget’s question in his second language of English, Bobby stood next to him raising his arms, pumping up the crowd and directing the attention toward his new teammate.

Think about that.

One of the best players in baseball had just delivered the walk-off hit. The cameras were waiting for him. The crowd was celebrating him. And he used the opportunity to celebrate someone else.

Bobby has always been a lead-by-example type of leader, and this was leadership without needing to say a word.

Leadership isn’t always a speech or a grand gesture. Sometimes it’s simply making sure someone else gets the recognition.

That’s Small Ball.

Who can you share the spotlight with today?