Will Buxton ever “stay healthy”?

[TheLeviathan]

 

Watch it again. That ball knuckled hard. It was well to the first base side of second base and then twisted back to almost dead center.

Look at Buxton’s angle of approach. The reason he slowed is because the ball was heading to right center off the bat and Byron had to drastically change angles to get it.

I don’t know if there’s another centerfielder in baseball who gets that ball.

And I say this as a person who doesn’t like Buxton’s approach in the field because 95% of Byron Buxton is better than 0% of Byron Buxton.

 

I agree about the possible knuckling, that's what I was alluding to.  But Buxton also took a bad angle going back on the last crash into the wall.

 

So when I watch it again and the camera pans to him he is running hard to right center.  He starts drifting back towards his left shoulder at one point and then veers hard that direction.

 

Are you sure it wasn't a really, really bad angle right off the bat?  Maybe that's the knuckle/wind effect, but his course/angle is not good almost from the start.  Maybe there is no way to answer that.

[TheLeviathan]

His adjustment to that misalignment between the ball's trajectory and his angle would not have been possible for anyone else.  That's what made that a great catch.

 

I'm just noting this is now two wall crashes where his route and the ball's trajectory were not well aligned.  Maybe it's spin on the ball or weather, I'm just noting them.  He's still an elite fielder, but if his routes continue to be misaligned I hope that gets fixed so we can save that 95% Buxton that Brock referred to.

[TheLeviathan]

Also not a fan of his Strib comment that he judges catch-greatness on how hard he crashes into the wall.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I'm glad he caught it, but it still looked like he slowed down and then sped up to hit harder. Nice catch, but I was cringing and holding my breath as he hit the wall. He did hit at an angle that seemed less likely to cause injury than he has done in previous crashes.

Frankly I’m more worried about him striking first base awkwardly trying to beat out an infield grounder, than him crashing into a wall.

[Brock Beauchamp]

 

I agree about the possible knuckling, that's what I was alluding to.  But Buxton also took a bad angle going back on the last crash into the wall.

 

So when I watch it again and the camera pans to him he is running hard to right center.  He starts drifting back towards his left shoulder at one point and then veers hard that direction.

 

Are you sure it wasn't a really, really bad angle right off the bat?  Maybe that's the knuckle/wind effect, but his course/angle is not good almost from the start.  Maybe there is no way to answer that.

If you watch the second replay of the broadcast after the catch, you can see the ball most of the time. It's going to right center off the bat and then knuckles back to center. Buxton's reactions are perfectly in line with what the ball is doing.

 

Besides, if there's one thing we can't really question about Buxton, it's his flyball reaction speed and route. He's elite in that regard. He doesn't just take "bad routes", as his read off the bat is pretty stellar.

 

This was just a weird ball and he managed to catch it.

 

Again, I wish Buxton would lay up more often but the way he played this ball was masterful.

 

https://www.mlb.com/gameday/tigers-vs-twins/2019/04/14/566967#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=videos,game=566967

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

but you knocked on wood? If his health wasn’t always a concern would you knock?

you know what they say about karma right?

[ewen21]

 

Also not a fan of his Strib comment that he judges catch-greatness on how hard he crashes into the wall.

There it is right there.  HE keeps on injecting into the discussion so I do not get it when people who don't like hearing the criticism use the "why are we talking about this?" retort.

 

We talk about it because it is an issue that can cause him to be on the shelf for a very long time.  He has amassed quite a highlight reel of outfield collisions--beginning with that horrific one in New Britain.

 

With regards to wall collisions, Buxton seems to have it on his brain and that to me is troubling.  He put on muscle during the offseason and I felt he needed to do that for a number of reasons, but not one of those reasons was to hold up to the wall collisions better.  Whether it is in gest or not, the media and Buxton have referred to that constantly.  It's become his trademark and it is a dangerous game to play.  Other players made acrobatic catches--Ken Griffey Jr comes to mind--but the way Buxton does it is so much more awkward and violent.  If it continues it won't end well and that is a shame because it looks like he is getting his offensive game in order.

 

As mentioned before ...he isn't injured "knock wood"

[AlwaysinModeration]

I hold my breath every time he goes up against a wall. He doesn’t seem like he has figured out yet to minimize impact — always seems a bit awkward crashing, limbs going everywhere.

 

I think I already mentioned this once, but there was a great article last year by Chad Jenning about Jackie Bradley Jr and his spectacular catches; he ranked his top ten catches. He talked about how he worked to get better at avoiding injury / awkward crashes. I don’t want Buxton to stop making spectacular catches, but he needs to get better at navigating walls to save himself from missing playing time.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I hold my breath every time he goes up against a wall. He doesn’t seem like he has figured out yet to minimize impact — always seems a bit awkward crashing, limbs going everywhere.

 

I think I already mentioned this once, but there was a great article last year by Chad Jenning about Jackie Bradley Jr and his spectacular catches; he ranked his top ten catches. He talked about how he worked to get better at avoiding injury / awkward crashes. I don’t want Buxton to stop making spectacular catches, but he needs to get better at navigating walls to save himself from missing playing time.

Is this it?

 

I do not subscribe to the athletic, but I probably should..,

 

https://theathletic.com/454771/2018/08/02/jackie-bradley-jr-ranks-the-10-best-catches-of-his-career/

[twinsnorth49]

You don't play professional sports with the goal of staying healthy. There isn't some switch in your head that tells you which plays to go for and which ones not to. Buxton at a 100% is what makes him Buxton....otherwise he's Jake Cave.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

You don't play professional sports with the goal of staying healthy. There isn't some switch in your head that tells you which plays to go for and which ones not to. Buxton at a 100% is what makes him Buxton....otherwise he's Jake Cave.

Buxton on the IL makes him what? About as valuable to the team as I am, I suppose.

[Riverbrian]

 

Buxton on the IL makes him what? About as valuable to the team as I am, I suppose.

 

I don't know the answer to this but I'll ask the question in case someone does. 

 

How many of his injuries were the result of trying too hard? 

[Richie the Rally Goat]

I don't know the answer to this but I'll ask the question in case someone does.

 

How many of his injuries were the result of trying too hard?

i don’t either, but I’m not sure the question is framed accurately. How many of his injuries have been as a result of failure to make adjustments that reduce his impact on the wall?

 

My recollection of last year was fouling a ball off his toe was the injury, but coming back too soon was what lost the season for him.

 

He’s lost time to migraine and back injury that we could guess came from wall collision, but will never know.

[twinsnorth49]

Buxton on the IL makes him what? About as valuable to the team as I am, I suppose.

Injuries are part of the game, he's not the same player if he alters his game in order to preserve his health. Nobody plays trying to get hurt or not hurt, it's a hard game. Just reality, welcome to it.

[twinsnorth49]

I've always been a big fan of blaming players for being "injury prone".

 

It's a lazy narrative.

[TheLeviathan]

What do you make of his comment to the Strib that he judges great catches by the force of impact with the wall?

 

I'm not sure that's a good way to view that.  I don't want to read too much into it, but I don't like that on the surface.

 

And, again, I absolutely think you can teach a player to avoid potential injuries and still play hard.  Hell, when I coached football, it would be the focus of hours of training camp.  It's about technique and awareness and that can be taught.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Is this it?

 

I do not subscribe to the athletic, but I probably should..,

 

https://theathletic.com/454771/2018/08/02/jackie-bradley-jr-ranks-the-10-best-catches-of-his-career/

That’s the one. I do subscribe, but this article is 9 months olds and they don’t appear to store articles that old on the app.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Alright, I read it on the web after logging. Here is a quote:

 

“A lot of guys sometimes will get back there too fast,” he said. “They go to jump and they jump into the wall, and they get stuck. So, what I like to do is I like to at least make sure I go up before I get to the wall. That way, my momentum will carry me back and at least I’m already up. Nothing makes me more mad than getting to the wall, go to make my leap, and jump, and then I get brought down by the wall. I feel like I just wasted an opportunity.”

 

He also describes the wall as a horror movie villain, and talks about how he hates diving forward for balls because you can break your wrist, and how he has learned to go limp before contact in order to reduce injury.