Royce Lewis had a long journey to get to Yankee Stadium, but the Twins third baseman is making the most of it.
Growing up as a shortstop with mixed-race parents in Southern California, Lewis idolized Derek Jeter, so on his way to the Bronx for the first time on Tuesday, Lewis was determined to honor his hero.
“I knew he had the respect of the whole league,” Lewis, who did not play in Thursday’s 8-5 loss to the Yankees, said of why he admired Jeter. “He was a shortstop and his parents were half black and half white, like my parents. I felt like I was him and I wanted to be like him.”
So before seeing Luis Gil’s first pitch, Lewis raised his right arm toward home plate umpire Chris Segal, just as Jeter often did during his playing days.
Unfortunately for Lewis, Segal misinterpreted the move and gave Lewis the time of day.
Lewis ended up hitting a home run later in the game.
Then on Wednesday, manager Lou Cucuzza, a longtime clubhouse visitor, saw a video of Lewis praising Jeter before pitching, found a Jeter-model bat at the stadium and gave it to Lewis for his 25th birthday.
“He told me to take batting practice with it, but I don’t want to break it,” Lewis said with a laugh. “I might try it out with some soft tossing, but I’m hoping to keep it at home and get an autograph.”
With Carlos Correa playing shortstop in Minnesota, Lewis hasn’t played much at shortstop, or any other position, due to injury issues.
Lewis, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 amateur draft, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in both 2021 and 2022 and missed most of the early part of this season with a strained quadriceps.
He’s performed well when healthy, and the Twins are hoping that continues.
