Minneapolis – Byron Buxton is doing things he’s never done before in his 11th season. On Friday, he accomplished another career first, stealing third base successfully for the first time to become the seventh Twin in franchise history to have a 20 home run, 20 stolen base season.
Then on Sunday, he set a new career high for home runs in a season with 29, passing his old teammate Max Kepler and tying another, Miguel Sanó, for the 12th most home runs in Twins history with 162. While the injuries over the years have suppressed Buxton from playing time that could have gotten him these career accolades sooner, he’s not at all surprised by his results at the plate.
“I mean, I knew I had this,” said Buxton. “It ain’t no shock to me. It might be a shock to y’all because I haven’t been healthy. I just need to be healthy.”
There are still plenty of career highs and records Buxton can surpass and set before the year is over. He’s nine stolen bases and one home run away from joining the 30/30 club. His next home run at Target Field will crown him the all-time home run king at the ballpark with 85. Six more homers this season will move him into Minnesota’s top 10 home run hitters in franchise history, moving past Sanó (162), Tom Brunansky (163), and Brian Dozier (167) to get there.
As fun as these record chases will be for fans and media to follow along for the rest of the season, Buxton isn’t fixating on it. His top priority is to compete in every game he plays to provide his team with a win, rather than focusing on his achievements along the way.
“It’s not in his mentality to be thinking about personal accolades and stats very often,” said Twins manager Rocco Baldelli. “I bet that some have more meaning than others, but I truly believe that most of them, almost all of them, mean very little to him. He’s a competitor, and he wants to win with his teammates and enjoy it and celebrate when this team wins. That’s the way he does everything.”
Buxton isn’t fixating on the career milestones he’s reached this year. Still, it doesn’t mean they won’t carry an appreciation for him when he has time to reflect on them after the season is over.
“[It] means a lot,” said Buxton. “Means being healthy. Proves that’s what it takes. When you’re healthy, your mind is at more of a mental peace. Things, I don’t want to say come easier, but you tend to let go of things a little easier and turn the page a little quicker.”
Even if Buxton isn’t fawning over the numbers he’s stacking up this season, it’s not stopping his teammates from being overly impressed at what he’s doing for them every day.
“That guy is awesome,” said Trevor Larnach. “You can’t say enough about him. The year he’s had, and he’s been healthy, thankfully, I think he’s the best center fielder in the game. Maybe biased, maybe not, I don’t care, I think he is.”
“He could get nine steals in one game,” Royce Lewis said. “If he gets on base enough and we green-light him enough. He could do it. stealing bases, for sure. The home runs…oh yeah, he’ll get 30.”
When the season comes to a close, Buxton will be in a position where he’s more willing to give time to reflect on everything he accomplished this season, getting closer to 120 to 125 games played. Of course, Buxton celebrated his first career cycle and the first one in Target Field history, but he’s typically been reserved about his accomplishments.
There are still 25 games remaining on the schedule following Minnesota’s 6-4 win over the White Sox on Monday. The season may be winding down, but there’s plenty of opportunity for Buxton to cash in more career highs and set new records before the end.
“I also got 27 more games to do more damage,” Buxton said postgame Sunday. “So right now is probably not the best time to ask me about 29 homers. I could care less about my career-high. In 27 more games, it’s different. I’ll be able to look back and reflect a little bit on what the season is, and we can kind of go from there. But right now, I’ve still got more work to do.”
