Royce Lewis Teaches Minnesotans to Love Again

One year after tearing his ACL for the second time, Twins top prospect Royce Lewis has returned with a vengeance, keying two major victories against division rivals Cleveland and defending champion Houston. Perhaps more importantly, he’s let a long-suffering, repressed, emotionally exhausted fanbase open its heart to the world of the possible. A world where good things happen to good people.

Royce Lewis is teaching Minnesota how to love again.

“I had given up on dating,” said Mathew Bell, an Apple Valley-based accountant. “The apps just did nothing for me. But now, seeing what Royce can do…I’m opening my heart up. I have a coffee date on Saturday. My co-workers tell me I’m smiling again. I’ve started running and I’ve lost five pounds without changing my diet. Thank you, Royce.”

“I woke up today and the sun was shining on my face,” said Heather Cook, an Eden Prairie school teacher. “It’s the first day of summer vacation. My husband made breakfast before leaving for work and set up a playdate for our kindergartner, so I’d have the whole day to myself. We’d been going through a pretty rough patch this spring, but the last week feels like we’re turning a corner, much like Royce Lewis when he rounds third base during his home run trot. Thank you, Royce.”

It doesn’t even have to be major life events. Even the smallest little grace notes are being credited to Lewis.

“I forgot to put my Friday afternoon Coors Lights on ice,” said Twins Daily co-founder Parker Hageman. “I was stuck at work and knew there was nothing I could do about it. But my wife texted me and said the local convenience store was giving away free ice for some summer promotion, so she picked up a bag when she stopped for gas. She filled the cooler with ice and Silver Bullets. Does this happen without Royce? I don’t think so.

“The mountains on the can turn blue when it’s cold,” added Hageman, who went to St. Cloud State.

Even the most hardened cynics are open to the possibility that happiness is real, that joy is something mere humans can touch and feel, thanks to Lewis.

“I’ve often said that nothing good will ever happen to Minnesota sports fans because we’ve been abandoned by an indifferent universe,” said Jon Marthaler, a firebrand local podcaster and soccer journalist. “I still believe that we’ll never see the light of God’s love. However, Royce Lewis makes me question that for a good 5-10 seconds before I get grumpy again. That hasn’t happened in years. Decades, even. Thank you, Royce.”

The Twins play Cleveland at 7:10 pm Friday.