A Humble Winner
An interview with AL Rookie of the Year, Kyle Lewis
UNSCRIPTED
By Keith Edmonds
Of Fort Wayne Ink Spot
Kyle Lewis, son of Chuck Lewis and Ruth Hawes Lewis was named Major League Baseball’s American League Rookie of the Year this past November. Ruth is a 1979 graduate of South Side High School where she ran track for three years. She still has ties to our city with two sisters—Cherrie Hawes and Charlnita and her husband James Custard—as well as Ruth’s father, Charles Hawes.
Growing up, her sons Kyle and Kenny spent many of their summers with family here in Fort Wayne, attending vacation bible school at St. John Missionary Baptist Church which was her mothers’ church. Kyle played summer ball for the Lima (OH) Locos, often making the short drive over to Fort Wayne during his downtime. Kyle is a 2016 first-round draft pick out of Mercer University in Georgia and is the starting center fielder for the Seattle Mariners. I recently interviewed Kyle—along with his brother, mother and father—we discussed winning this distinguished honor and his rise to prominence in Major League Baseball.
Q: Kyle, how’d it feel to get the call from Hall-of Famer Cal Ripken that you’d won the Rookie of the Year Award? How have you processed it?
A: I just look at it as one of the great moments that happened in my life that I’ll be able to look back on. While I am most appreciative, my overall goals supersede any personal accomplishments. Personal achievements and things that happen for me are secondary to the main things that I’d like to accomplish. Things like having a consistently good attitude, being able to represent me and my family well, along with being healthy and available to play on a daily basis.
Q: I appreciate your being humble, but this year’s award is almost unprecedented! Not many players have had all 30 writers vote in the same manner for this award. So where do you go from here? What do you feel are your areas for improvement?
A: Well, I definitely think that there are areas where I need to improve on both sides of the ball—hitting & fielding. That’s why I take these types of honors and awards in stride because I want to be considered an elite MLB player. I won’t allow one season to define me as a player when growth and consistency are needed over a long period of time.
Q: Share your path to the majors and some of your most challenging times you incurred on the journey.
A: I came out of Mercer University in 2016 where I played baseball for three years and then played minor league baseball for about three-and-a-half seasons. I went through two knee surgeries during those minor league seasons and missed a lot of time due to rehabbing. So you could describe my minor league career as “choppy.” In 2019 I was able to find some consistent help which allowed me to stay on the field for extended periods of time and it was during this year that my development started, and I got the call to come up to the major leagues. This led to the year that I had this past season and the honors that came with it.
Q: Ruth, what’s it been like to see your child develop into a professional athlete and accomplish so much so quickly?
A: It has truly been pure joy and exhilaration. I find myself saying, “I literally can’t believe it!” I am blessed to have two awesome young men. The greater joy comes from seeing them mature and being able to watch them maneuver through life in their chosen careers.
Q: When did you know Kyle had the ability to play at the professional level?
A: It really hit me during the summer of his sophomore year when he played in the Cape Cod League and did really well. The challenge with Kyle was always that he’s from a mid-major (college program). So when he played well enough to be named “Player of the Week” in his first week, I was like “OMG, he’s hitting well against pitchers that come from the more recognizable conferences like the SEC and ACC. He then started to separate himself from other players in the league and people were starting to make a big deal out of him. It really hit me when he won the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s best collegiate player. My thoughts were he’s got an opportunity to really make a career out of this!
Q: What about you, Chuck?
A: I have to be honest with you: I never knew what a “star” baseball player or someone that had Major League potential looked like, so this is something new to me. I knew that he was good and looked at as one of his team’s better players in baseball and basketball, but I couldn’t imagine that he would be where he is today, or on the trajectory that he’s on to do even more. As parents, we just tried to be as supportive as we could and keep him involved in the things that he wanted to do and said let’s just see where it goes.
Q: Kyle, what one player, if any, have you patterned your game after or is this just the best version of yourself?
A: Well, when I was in high school, I used to watch Adam Jones (Baltimore Orioles) and really focused on how he played in the outfield through watching videos of him. That was the player that I always looked up to, simply because I liked his style of play and he was only a few years older than me.
Q: Chuck, how do you keep yourself grounded with all of the attention and accolades that your son has received?
A: Well, I’m not really sure! (laughter) I enjoy seeing him play this game, and though he is my son, I’m a fan as well. I get excited when he does things that are amazing to see, but I also cringe when he whiffs (laughter) as a fan would. Kyle always says, “Dad this is work,” but I try to tell him to enjoy it as well and not to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Q: Kenny, what keeps you grounded when you see your little brother excelling?
A: What I don’t see is any arrogance on his part. As a family we get excited to see him play, but I guess that I just don’t see him as anything other than my “little brother” who happens to play baseball. Our family is just built that way. We’re not allowing Kyles’s successes to change who we are, but we definitely enjoy seeing him perform and share in his accomplishments.``
Q: Kenny, where would you like to see your brother improve going forward?
A: For me, it’s just to develop consistency for what he’s doing. Longevity is important but I don’t want him to forget what got him to this point and enjoy the ride. Don’t get so caught up in trying to prove yourself to the naysayers that you miss out on the fun of being there. In all honesty, I’d love to see him lead the league in all three categories (home runs, runs-batted-in, and batting average) and be a Triple Crown threat year in and year out!
Q: Mom your thoughts on the same question...
A: I’m glad you asked. First of all, Kyle is his biggest critic. He can be really hard on himself so let me just tell you how things were from his family’s perspective. We were all crying for different reasons. I’m not sure that people realized how hard Kyle worked to get himself back to the level that he expected of himself. Even though he tried (along with us) to ignore the naysayers and their doubts of if he could come back and play at the MLB level, it gets tough. So, to see him get rewarded for all of his hard work made us grateful.
Q: Final question: Kyle, what do the Mariners look like for this season? Can you compete and win your division? How far can you go this year?
A: I definitely feel that we can field a competitive team for this season. We are building a roster that gives us the opportunity to get to the play-offs. We have a lot of guys that are hungry and want to build a name for themselves. Those two things are going to work well with the energy that we are trying to bring to the city so I think that can create something special for us in this upcoming season!”
I want to thank Kyle and the Lewis family for spending quality time with me. The love and support that they have for each other is evident. Kyle’s ascension in the Majors will be unquestioned, not only for his talent but for his commitment to see the big picture and stay in the moment. Neither he nor his family will allow him to get too far ahead with personal accomplishments or honors, which is refreshing to see and a tribute to the guidance of Chuck and Ruthie Lewis. We at Ink Spot wish him all the best moving forward in the Major Leagues!