An All-Star Game appearance, no matter where it is, is a special honor and acknowledgement. But for Byron Buxton, with the game being held in Atlanta, a little over three hours from his hometown of Baxley, Georgia, it’s even sweeter.
“To do it back home with this Twins uniform on, it’s a blessing,” Buxton said. “Everybody doesn’t get to play as many years as I do and to be able to do it with the Twins and know I’m going to do it with the Twins every year I make it, that’s something special to me and my family.”
Buxton was named to the American League All-Star team on Sunday as the Twins’ lone representative with other deserving candidates like starter Joe Ryan and closer Jhoan Duran on the outside looking in.
The center fielder’s inclusion on the roster comes as no surprise considering he’s been among the best players in the league this year. Buxton, who hit a home run in the Twins’ 7-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, is hitting .270 with 20 home runs, 56 RBIs, an .878 OPS and 16 stolen bases on 16 attempts to go along with his usual Gold Glove-caliber defense. He’s been as healthy physically as he’s been in years, missing two weeks with a concussion after colliding with shortstop Carlos Correa in mid-May but otherwise playing nearly every day.
It will be the second All-Star Game appearance of his career. The first came in 2022, during which he hit a home run which served as the game-winning run in the American League’s 3-2 victory.
“The biggest thing for me is last time I went to the game, as far as my family, it was four of us,” Buxton said. “We then added a kid, so being able to make it back with my whole family this time is very special.”
That 2022 all-star season was cut short when he underwent season-ending knee surgery in September. A year later, he did not appear at all in center field, serving strictly as the Twins’ designated hitter. He ended up having a second surgery on his right knee that year, too.
Buxton landed on the injured list twice last year, once with knee inflammation and once with hip inflammation, during an otherwise strong season. This year, he’s been even healthier and even better.
“It’s a kind of resurgence because he was still playing well for us, he was doing a lot of things, he was productive but to be able to get prime Buxton basically every day, you’re getting it every day, that’s a whole different deal,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “I think in his mind, this was always coming and in my mind, it was always coming but when you actually see it and you actually get it and it’s in front of you every day, it’s a beautiful thing.”
While he is currently the team’s lone representative, it’s possible that the Twins get another all star or two in the coming days due to players dropping out of the game.
Ryan, who gave up two runs in six innings on Sunday, has a 2.76 earned-run average now and has been among the best starters in the American League, but every team needs a representative, which ate into some of the available roster spots.
“Joe’s, in my mind, clearly had another All-Star first half and he takes a ton of pride in what he does,” Baldelli said. “He’d totally love to be out there and pitching in an All-Star Game and just being acknowledged as one of the best pitchers in the game because he is.”
And so is Duran with his 1.56 ERA.
But whether or not one or two of his teammates wind up joining him, it’s clear that Buxton will savor the time spent back home in Georgia with his family representing the Twins.
“How many times is the All-Star Game played in your hometown and you’re having just a splendid season and you get a chance to go?” Baldelli asked. “That will never happen for most guys. … It’s an actual once in a lifetime situation.”
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