Minnesota Twins fans haven't watched Royce Lewis suit up for a big league game since Opening Day, but that all ends on Tuesday night.
As if his return wasn't already reason enough to be excited, he wasted no time at all in firing everyone up before the game.
Lewis strained his right quad three innings into his season debut, an injury that came after he hit a home run and reached base on a single in his first at-bats of the season. Twins fans won't see his third at-bat of the season until he steps into the batter's box hitting fifth on Tuesday night in the Bronx.
Despite how rough things have seemed at times this season, the Twins are off to their third-best start in the last two decades. All of that happened without Lewis, which suggests that the only direction to go from here is up and a team that was already showing flashes of being special is only going to get better.
If Lewis' comments before the game are any indication of how ready he is to make an impact, the rest of the American League had better buckle up.
Royce Lewis had a perfect reaction to returning to the Twins lineup vs. Yankees
Before he officially made his re-introduction on the field, Lewis spoke with Twins reporters before the game and dropped the exact sort of reaction that will fire fans up.
Royce Lewis, who has been out since getting hurt on Opening Day, on his return:
— Betsy Helfand (@betsyhelfand) June 4, 2024
"When you love this game as much as I do, because I believe no one loves it more than I do, it’s a blessing to be here. I couldn’t imagine another day without it."
How can you not love this guy like he's your son?
Lewis' return to the lineup couldn't be coming at a better time. Minnesota is hot off three straight series victories, having beaten the Nationals, Royals, and Astros consecutively. Those wins came after back-to-back series sweeps, the first of which happened against the Yankees at Target Field in mid-May.
The sweep against New York set forth a string of bad losses that threatened to undo a lot of the momentum Minnesota had built up over the course of a 12-game winning streak just a week prior. Getting Lewis back for a potential revenge series is the type of stuff that could help propel the Twins on a run that sends them into the All-Star Break way ahead of where it looked like they were going earlier this year.
All of that is easier said than done, but Lewis is already talking a big game and Twins fans are no strangers to how well he tends to back it up.