Bobby Witt Jr. wants to be his generation's Derek Jeter, but do the numbers match up?

Bobby Witt Jr. idolizing Derek Jeter and Dustin Pedroia makes sense. He was a kid in the 2000s, after all.

"Just the way he played the game," Witt said about why he was such a Jeter fan growing up. "He was my guy and then Pedroia was my guy. That's why I wore 17 in high school," in reference to the combination of Jeter's number 2 and Pedroia's number 15. Yankees and Red Sox fans might claim that to be immoral, but we'll give Bobby a pass here.

At 24 years old, Witt is coming off a near-MVP season; or, more accurately, a season that would have won him MVP most seasons, but unfortunately for him, Aaron Judge exists. Nevertheless, Witt is a rising star in baseball. How does his career — and specifically, his 24 year-old season — compare to the career of Jeter at 24? When you look at the numbers, actually surprisingly well.

Witt was an elite hitter this season. He led the majors with a .332 batting average and 211 hits, slugged nearly .600, and mashed 32 home runs along with 45 doubles and 11 triples. His OPS of .977 was fourth behind just Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto. Good company! He also finished second in the MLB in WAR at 9.2, and is the only player in baseball with an offensive WAR over 9.0 and a defensive WAR over 1.0.

When you compare that to Jeter's 1998 season, they stack up pretty well with each other. Jeter hit .324, which didn't even the approach to hitting around the league has compeltely shifted nearly 30 years later. Jeter's OPS was .864, and he hit 19 homers that year, along with 25 doubles and eight triples. He finished with a WAR of 6.2.

24 year-old Witt also toped 24 year-old Jeter in total bases, OBP and WRC+, not that anyone in 1998 had ever heard the phrase "weighted runs created plus." Still, when put side-by-side, Witt's season looks more impressive in most major statistical categories.

Derek Jeter and the Yankees closed out 1998 with a bang

The 1998 New York Yankees were probably always going to win the World Series. They went 114-48 in the regular season, and then lost just two games during their entire postseaon run, which ended in a 4-0 sweep of the Padres.

Witt's Royals haven't been quite as dominant. They went 86-76 in the regular season, but did advance to the ALDS after beating the Orioles twice is as many tries. Now facing Jeter's old team, the New York Yankees, Witt is experiencing the massive stage of Yankee Stadium firsthand.

A World Series run from Witt and the Royals would be pretty miraculous, so Jeter has that over Witt at this point in their respective careers. But all the individual numbers point to Witt being on a pretty good pace next to his "guy" Derek Jeter.