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Royce Lewis could rapidly become the face of the franchise

Lewis has only been with the Twins for a week, but he gives them something they haven't had in a while.

Chris Schad

Royce Lewis could rapidly become the face of the franchise
Royce Lewis could rapidly become the face of the franchise /

It was a typical summer night at Target Field. The temperature was warm, the smell of Kramarczuk's brats filled the air and the Minnesota Twins were in deep trouble.

A 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Guardians had evaporated in a flurry of sixth-inning singles. Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Max Kepler had all left the game due to injury and Emilio Pagán was on the mound.

Twins fans had seen this movie before and it wasn't looking like a happy ending. But then Royce Lewis stepped to the plate and smacked a two-run homer in the eighth inning that eventually led the Twins to a 7-6 victory.

Lewis has been with the Twins for less than a week but you can already tell there's something different about him. In fact, you could argue that Lewis is the exact player this franchise has needed for the past 30 years.

This seems like a stretch, but it's been a while since the Twins have had a player that has gained the admiration of the entire fan base. 

Joe Mauer was a hometown hero throughout the late 2000s, but a group of fans became frustrated when he didn't produce at the same level after winning the American League Most Valuable Player award in 2009.

Justin Morneau was also a fan favorite, but he always seemed to be Mauer's running mate – despite winning the AL MVP award in 2006 – until a series of concussions cut his career short.

Torii Hunter was the leader of the 2000s Twins that dominated the American League Central but he left in free agency and had a second act with the Los Angeles Angels and Detroit Tigers.

Chuck Knoblauch went from a beloved member of the 1991 World Series championship team to a target practice prop after demanding a trade in the late 1990s.

Even today's Twins carry a stigma of "Yeah, but..." when it comes to the adulation of the fan base.

Buxton is an All-Star and an electric player on the field, but a slew of injuries have kept him off of it more often than not, turning him into "Bad Luck Byron" in the eyes of many fans.

Correa is one of the top shortstops in the game but a prolonged slump, worrisome plantar fasciitis in his left foot, and a free agency tour where he agreed to huge deals with two other teams before returning to the Twins hangs in the background.

Kepler and Jorge Polanco were members of the 2019 "Bomba Squad" but neither of them command the massive following that some of their teammates have.

You might have to go all the way back to the mid-80s when Kirby Puckett transformed the Twins from American League doormat to World Series champion, which is exactly the type of player Lewis feels like after his first week back in the majors.

It seems insane to compare a 23-year-old with a Hall of Famer and arguably the greatest player in the history of the franchise, but Lewis's appeal has as much to do with the Twins' recent history as it does with vibes.

Since the Twins won the World Series in 1991, they have won just one playoff series. They are currently mired in an 18-game postseason losing streak, which is the longest in men's major professional sports.

They had the batting champion, Cy Young Award winner and MVP on the same team when they were swept by the Oakland Athletics in 2006. They were screwed by Phil Cuzzi in 2009. They were swept by the New York Yankees after hitting the most home runs in MLB history in 2019, had the 2020 season shortened by a pandemic and have underachieved the past two seasons.

Even this year's team can't escape the demons of the past. Former Twins Brent Rooker, Spencer Steer and Yennier Canó are tearing the league apart after being traded last offseason. The players they got in return (Chris Paddack, Tyler Mahle, Jorge López) are either hurt or struggling.

When the Twins win, they still wind up losing in some fashion. The trade for Pablo López helped give Minnesota its best rotation in years but required the departure of Luis Arraez, who is leading MLB with a .374 average.

That pitching staff, which leads the majors in starter ERA, is backed by a lineup that has struck out an MLB-high 589 times.

Simply put, there's not much for Twins fans to grab onto...except for when Lewis comes to the plate.

On Monday, Lewis smacked a three-run homer in the second at-bat against the Houston Astros. If that were his only hit of the afternoon, Lewis would have been a feel-good story, but he delivered with a game-tying single in the top of the ninth that led the Twins to a 7-5 victory.

Then came Thursday night where his two-run homer not only helped the Twins win but also captivated the imagination of the fan base with his comments to reporters.

Of course, a June night at Target Field is much different than an October night at Yankee Stadium, but Lewis seems to have the mentality that the Twins haven't had in a long time.

Maybe Lewis turns out to be just a really solid player or he's one Twins fans will talk about over a beer in 10 years. But there's a chance he could energize the fan base which is something that hasn't been done since Puckett brought everyone aboard in 1991.

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Chris Schad
CHRIS SCHAD

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