They came from different parts of the country, one from Florida, the other from Southern California, but they wound up as roommates first, and then friends, during their teenage years.
There was no way of knowing, a decade earlier, when Royce Lewis and Austin Martin were sitting on the bench watching their teammates compete that they would reunite years down the road as teammates once again, this time in the major leaguers.
“We’ve been friends since we were 14, 15 years old,” Martin said. “We roomed together whenever we played for USA, so it’s cool to be in a big-league clubhouse with him being my cubby-mate.”
The two may not share the field any time soon — Martin was promoted over the weekend because Lewis suffered a quad injury on Opening Day that will sideline him for more than a month — but they should later on in the season.
And even though Martin’s big-league chance came at his expense, Lewis is excited to see Martin make the most of his chance.
“He’s well-deserved up here. I’m very glad he got an opportunity,” Lewis said. “If it had to be me going down for him, then I think it’s worth it, absolutely. He’s going to be a great player. He won’t be getting sent down anytime soon.”
They’ve come a long way from their days playing for USA Baseball’s U-15 team in the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup.
Both were initially overlooked by their coach, beginning the youth tournament, which was played in the summer of 2014 in Mazatlan, Mexico, on the bench.
“The coach didn’t believe in us or something because he put us on the bench and he told us straight up, ‘Yeah, you guys aren’t going to be playing unless something happens,’ ” Lewis remembered. “Some guys were struggling out of the gate, we were given a cool opportunity, and he didn’t take us out of the lineup after we got that opportunity.”
Once they got on the field, they both made the most of their chances — Lewis hit .462 in the tournament and slugged .808. His 12 RBIs were second on the team, even though he only played in eight of the team’s 10 games. Martin batted .533 in the eight games he played.
Years later, both would be top-five picks in the MLB draft. Lewis was selected first overall by the Twins in 2017 out of high school, and Martin was picked fifth by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2020 out of Vanderbilt.
“It’s a lot harder (evaluating) when you’re 14, you know?” Lewis said. “… That’s just a lesson for kids out there all the time: if you’re not making a team, it doesn’t matter. The big leagues will find you.”
The big leagues did find them and though they’ve come a long way from their teenage years, both say the other is just the same as he was back in the day.
Lewis described a young Martin as “chill, laid-back” and “ready to just go ball out for you, give you whatever he’s got.” A younger Lewis was “super energetic, super positive, always joking,” Martin said, just as he is now.
Martin made his Twins debut on Saturday, pinch running and playing defense for an inning before being pinch hit for. He started his first career game on Sunday in center field and now should have an opportunity to make an impact with the Twins in the coming weeks.
“I can’t wait to see what he does,” Lewis said. “He’s going to do something special.”
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