Twins catcher Christian Vázquez was searching Amazon last week with one goal in mind: “We needed something for homers, so I found that on Amazon.”
“That” is a silver and gold helmet with red bristles, like one a Roman fighter might have worn back in the day.
There hasn’t been as much to celebrate in the early going of the season as the Twins would have liked, but the helmet first made an appearance on Friday when Byron Buxton homered. It appeared again on Sunday with Edouard Julien becoming the second player to don it.
After Buxton hit his home run and made his way to the dugout Friday, he was approached by Vázquez, who removed his batting helmet. Pablo López then replaced it with Vázquez’s new purchase, and Buxton continued on through the dugout, receiving high fives.
As for the backstory behind the helmet?
“It looked cool, and I bought it,” Vázquez said.
This marks the third straight year that the Twins have had a home run celebration.
López purchased a fishing vest with a toy rod for the team in 2023. The vest read “Land of 10,000 Rakes,” on the back, and fish decals were stuck on for each home run the Twins hit.
A year later, López introduced a Prince-themed vest along with a fedora and an inflatable guitar. Also, famously, the Twins had a summer sausage that they began tossing up in the air for the home run hitter to catch upon returning to the dugout, something that coincided with the start of a 12-game winning streak last year and made for one of the quirkier storylines in Major League Baseball.
“We’ve had a few of them show up, and a few of them have gotten us on some pretty nice stretches of baseball,” manager Rocco Baldelli said of the celebration items. “Let’s let the helmet settle in. I think it looks pretty sharp. It looks well-made and substantial. Make sure there’s no sharp corners on it and plop it on some guys’ heads.”
France honored
The last time Ty France was named the American League’s Player of the Week, the first baseman had to share the honors with Miguel Cabrera after the future hall of famer had collected his milestone 3,000th hit that week back in April 2022.
This time, the honor is his alone. France won the award for a week in which he hit .440 (11 for 25), slugged .760 and had a .500 on-base percentage. He added a pair of home runs, drove in six and scored six runs.
“It’s pretty cool. It’s definitely a special honor. It’s been a while since I’ve won it,” France said. “It’s cool to be recognized solo this time. Just validates all the hard work I put in this offseason. Paid off.”
Briefly
Bailey Ober is scheduled to start Tuesday night’s game against New York Mets right-handed pitcher Tylor Megill, the brother of former Twins pitcher Trevor Megill. … Reliever Scott Blewett was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles. Blewett was designated for assignment over the weekend. In 14 games with the Twins across parts of two seasons, he had a 1.80 earned-run average, striking out 23 batters in 25 innings.
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