Royce Lewis finds a moment to savor from a lost season for the Twins

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Royce Lewis finds a moment to savor from a lost season for the Twins

2025-09-23 08:44 Last Updated At：09:01

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Royce Lewis bent low to reach for a seventh-inning slider, raising his bat with confidence and joy as soon as he connected.

Lewis hopped along the first-base line as he let out a celebratory yell at his Minnesota Twins teammates in the dugout, before pivoting to finish the jog around the diamond following the pinch-hit, three-run drive that traveled 402 feet into the left-field seats for his 13th homer of the season.

Lewis and the Twins have been frustratingly short on those shout-worthy moments in 2025. It's only natural, then, that the 26-year-old third baseman was pumped up by that big hit that gave the Twins some late insurance in a 6-2 victory over Cleveland on Sunday that salvaged another unflattering series and afforded them the opportunity to relish the spoiler role against the surging division rival Guardians, who trail the Detroit Tigers by just one game.

More jarringly in his postgame reflection, though, was one of the reasons Lewis cited in savoring the experience of that clutch homer.

“You never know if it’s going to be your last at-bat here or what,” Lewis said. “You never know.”

As a player with only 252 career games on his resume who won't be eligible for free agency until 2029, the first overall pick in the 2017 draft who still presents significant upside to the Twins despite his injury-altered start in the major leagues, Lewis would be about the last guy on the list of potential trade candidates for the offseason.

But such is the state of flux the Twins have found themselves in at 67-89, eliminated from contention for the playoffs for a second straight year after an aggressive sell-off leading up to the trade deadline seven weeks ago. Asked a follow-up question in his postgame interview session on Sunday, Lewis acknowledged that he indeed has braced himself for the possibility of being dealt.

“I’m just here and enjoying my time with my teammates. I grew up playing with all these guys,” Lewis said, pondering the scenario in real time. “It would almost be like I grew up with one family then all of a sudden, ‘Hey, I’m going to college.’"

Lewis slumped badly in August, but he has shown signs recently of finding his place at the plate. He's batting .284 with four homers, 13 RBIs and nine steals in as many attempts in 19 games in September.

Lewis entered the 2024 season with a career .913 OPS with 17 homers and 57 RBIs in 70 games, but the knee and hamstring injuries sure haven't helped him refine his swing mechanics over time. Lewis has also admitted a hesitancy to embrace a midstream adjustment to his approach, which in turn has made it a little harder for the coaching staff to make an impact on his progress.

After a spring training hamstring strain delayed his start to the season until May, Lewis aggravated the injury in June. That was a less severe strain, but he returned after a 15-game absence and now believes he rushed back to help the struggling team.

“My body wasn’t necessarily fully trusting. My mind, my body were off, so it sets you back and then you have 75 at-bats where it’s kind of building up spring training timing again,” Lewis said. "It’s just hard to manage, man. It’s extremely hard.”

Now he's got six more games to carry some good vibes into 2026, whether with the Twins — or elsewhere.

“My body feels great. I feel really good," he said, "and I’m looking forward to carrying that into next year.”

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Boston Bruins retire Zdeno Chara's No. 33, honoring the giant defenseman who led 2011 Cup victory

BOSTON (AP) — When Zdeno Chara signed with the Boston Bruins in 2006, the No. 3 he wore early in his career had already been retired by the Original Six franchise.

So he picked No. 33 without giving it much thought.

“Little did I know how meaningful 33 was,” Chara said on Thursday night before his number was raised to the TD Garden rafters not far from where Larry Bird's No. 33 already hangs in Celtics green.

It is the 13th number retired by the Bruins, and the latest in a collection of Hall of Fame defenseman that runs from Eddie Shore to Bobby Orr to Raymond Bourque.

“It's a huge honor,” Chara told reporters. "I can’t explain to you how honored I feel. I’m humbled about being selected to be one of the numbers being retired. Being with that history, forever."

The 2009 Norris Trophy winner and a 2025 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Chara spent 14 of his 24 NHL seasons in Boston, leading the Bruins to the 2011 Stanley Cup championship. His 1,680 games is the most of any NHL defenseman; at 6 feet, 9 inches (2.06m), he is the tallest player in league history, and his 108.8 mph (175.1 kmh) slap shot in the 2012 skills competition remains the NHL record.

But his teammates and other Bruins attending Thursday's ceremony said Chara's biggest contribution was signing with a team that hadn't won a playoff series in six years — “the best decision I ever made” — and turning them into champions.

“Things really changed when Zee came here as a free agent,” Bourque said. "From that point on, the culture and everything that comes with that, and the success and the run that they had, he was such a big part of that.

“He’s a legend,” Bourque said. “He really deserves to be up there.”

Bourque was among the former Bruins greats in attendance, along with Orr — both of them, like Chara, Boston defensemen who finished their careers elsewhere on their way to the Hall of Fame. They arrived via gold carpet that led them past adoring fans and the statue of Orr flying through the air following his Cup-winning goal in the 1970 finals.

Other fellow retired number honorees in attendance included Cam Neely, Willie O’Ree, Rick Middleton, Terry O'Reilly and John Bucyk. The current Bruins sat on the bench, all wearing Chara jerseys.

Five members of the 2011 roster — Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi, Dennis Seidenberg, David Krejci and Tuukka Rask — carried the retired number onto the ice, and teammate Andrew Ference served as emcee.

In his speech, Chara read the names of every player on the Bruins last Cup winners. Asked why, he said after: “Without championships, you are not going to be successful, you’re not going to be recognized.

"The championships, that’s what they do. They raise everyone, they extend careers for everyone,” he explained. "They create dynasties. They create stories. They create memories. They created what we’re experiencing tonight.

"It’s very simple: Once you win the championship, everything gets so much better for everyone. And the most beautiful thing about it: You create extended families with each other. It’s true. You have bonds, you have friendships that are now still forever. It’s amazing; it’s like you’re seeing your brother. You trust the person; you know everything about them. And anytime anybody needs something, you’re there for them.

“That’s what winning championships do,” he said. “Not just for a career, but for the rest of your lives, it means something very special.”

The ceremony at center ice featured a “Big Zee” ice sculpture flanking the podium and a large No. 33 behind it. Fans were asked to get in their seats two hours early, and the full TD Garden erupted in a giant shout of “Zee!” followed by an extended cheer of “Thank you, Chara!”

A highlight video featured former Bruins Brad Marchand and current coach Marco Sturm, Chara's teammate from 2006-10. Many of them spoke of the way Chara led by example.

“He wasn’t really a ‘Rah, rah!’ guy,” former Bruins forward and current team president Neely said, “but when he spoke, it was with a purpose.”

And so, when it was time to raise his No. 33 to the rafters, Chara stood by with his wife, Tatiana, while their children — Zack, Ben and Elliz — pulled the ropes.

“That’s the biggest reward for me: To see my children and my family doing it instead of me. I think I get better joy watching them doing it than the joy of me doing it because it's so much more meaningful,” he explained. "They deserve that more than me."

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