This story was excerpted from Matthew Leach's Twins Beat newsletter. MLB.com reporter Bill Ladson is filling in for Leach for this edition. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – If third baseman Royce Lewis isn’t playing third base for the Twins, it is almost a certainty that he is talking to kids before the game. The smile on Lewis’ face says it all: He enjoys talking ball with children.
“I love kids. I can’t wait to have my own,” Lewis said.
But here’s a first. Whenever a child (sorry, parents, you will not get one) asks Lewis for an autograph, he obliges. In turn, however, Lewis takes off his Twins cap and has the kid give him his or her John Hancock. The children are often hesitant at first, but they gladly put a signature on the cap.
Lewis started this gesture this spring. So far, he has more than a dozen signatures, and there is room for a few more.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I want to create memories for myself and, hopefully, for the kids, too,” Lewis said. “I want to be different. They are always asking us for stuff. When I asked them, hopefully they will remember [that I asked].
“I remember a bunch of things [as a kid] when I asked for a bunch of stuff from Matt Kemp or Torii Hunter. These guys stuck out to me. That’s why they are my favorite players. They made me feel like the best person in the world when, in reality, I was looking at them as the best people in the world. I respect them so much. Now, it’s a full turn of events, and I get to work out with them. It’s a cool deal. That’s why I do it.”
Once the cap is filled with signatures, Lewis might start a new collection and see where it goes.