In One Play, Byron Buxton Made an Announcement: I’m Back. Really.

[Ted Schwerzler]

There have not been many silver linings for the Minnesota Twins to start the 2024 season. On Monday night, in front of a loaded Los Angeles Dodgers team and an excited Target Field crowd, one of the team's most beloved performers and leaders provided one.

Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

A year ago during spring training, the talk of Twins camp was Byron Buxton building up to something. He didn’t participate in games playing center field, but the hope was that he could ultimately get there as the season wore on. We know that never happened, and he was shut down for much of the stretch run, before one thrilling but fruitless at-bat in the postseason.

Following another offseason procedure on his troublesome knee, though, things seemed different. Buxton was back in center during games this spring, and while he was being slow-played, there was quiet optimism in the air. Then, on Opening Day, Buxton returned to his rightful place in the Twins lineup, for the first time in 554 days.

While that was exciting in and of itself, it didn’t signify to what extent we would see the comeback play out, or how he would be used as the season went on. There were triples in Grapefruit League action that acted as some level of proof his legs were back under him, and the speed was there, but we never saw him really go get one--until it happened on Monday night against the Dodgers.

With Steven Okert on the mound and two runners aboard, slugger Teoscar Hernández crushed an 0-2 pitch to right-center. Buxton took off, and as only he can, laid out like Superman. What Statcast ruled a four-star opportunity was a ball that Buxton made look like just another part of his highlight reel.

At that moment, Target Field erupted. It seemed that, in fact, Buck was back.

Through the early part of the season, Buxton has already made two separate four-star catches, which leads all of baseball. Among center fielders, he is back to elite territory in sprint speed at 28.8 feet per second. That places him just outside of the top 15 across any position in baseball, and that's while now being 30 years old. If this isn't back, it's an awfully close facsimile.

On the offensive side of things, the slash line doesn’t tell the full story. Certainly, the 11/1 K/BB isn’t exciting, but Buxton’s quality of contact is reflective of a player poised for more, and one who is feeling good from the foundation up.

Batting just .235 with a .324 slugging percentage through his first nine games, Buxton has batted-ball data to support something more robust. His 93.2-mph average exit velocity is the highest number he has posted at any point throughout his career. His 52.2% hard-hit rate is well above the 34% career mark, and more than 10% above any other output he has accumulated during his career.

As has been the case with all Twins hitters thus far, honing plate discipline is where Buxton needs to unlock the best part of himself this season. A 34.6% chase rate has room to go down, and finding the range to achieve more productive contact will require it to do so. Given how well he is striking it when making contact, there is plenty to be excited about here when everything clicks.

At the end of the day, the totality of what Buxton has shown us in the early going is incredibly exciting. He has played in all nine of the team's games this season and started seven of them in center field. The training wheels are fully off, and the bat is back to doing damage when making contact. There is still plenty of room to grow, but plainly, this is an entirely different player from the one we saw last season.

If the Twins lineup is going to turn it around, it will be largely because of the performance that Buxton can put forth. If early returns are to be believed though, he’s back, and that’s great for everyone involved. In the meantime, as we wait for the team to pull out of an early tailspin, the catch he made Monday night stands as a vivid reminder of the value he holds, to that clubhouse, to the team on the field, and to Twins fans.

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[Rod Carews Birthday]

Great dive.  Now don’t do that again. . . .

[jmlease1]

I was thrilled to see him making a diving catch and pop up like he did it every day. He looks great out there, running freely, and it's so fun to see him back to being his best self in CF. He also looks good on the basepaths and is once again dangerous there too; I'm looking forward to a 3B or SS airmailing a throw to 1B because they rushed their throw on what should have been a routine grounder because Buxton flew out of the box. 

When healthy, he's the most consistently exciting player I've ever watched in a Twins uniform. (I didn't say "best"; lots of arguments on that, but for pure excitement he's #1)

[Doctor Gast]

Being that exceptional CFer is foundational, that's his identity. When that is established his hitting will fall into place. Offensively it was easy when Lewis was around to fire up everybody but now he has to work at it.

[PDX Twin]

Do they average in zero for exit velocity on all the strikeouts, Or do they pretend that they don't exist?

[Schmoeman5]

42 minutes ago, jmlease1 said:

I was thrilled to see him making a diving catch and pop up like he did it every day. He looks great out there, running freely, and it's so fun to see him back to being his best self in CF. He also looks good on the basepaths and is once again dangerous there too; I'm looking forward to a 3B or SS airmailing a throw to 1B because they rushed their throw on what should have been a routine grounder because Buxton flew out of the box. 

When healthy, he's the most consistently exciting player I've ever watched in a Twins uniform. (I didn't say "best"; lots of arguments on that, but for pure excitement he's #1)

Betts airmailed one last night and it wasn't close because he DIDNT fly out of the box. So I guess he chooses the when part of that equation. Must not have been feeling it then. Byron Buxton is the best defensive CF. The rest. Not so much. But I  guess Billy Ripken has to say something positive to get Twins fans excited 

[KnoblauchWasFramed]

BA: .235  OBP: .297  SLG: .324  OPS: .621

G; 9  AB: 34  SO: 11  BB: 1

I guess your are right.... The Buxton we have all become very familiar is back!!!   But yea, amazing catch that one time.  

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Great dive.  Now don’t do that again. . . .

Seriously? Then what's the point of playing him?

[Rod Carews Birthday]

33 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

Seriously? Then what's the point of playing him?

Just reacting to my inner fear of him getting hurt easily on a superman play.  We've been down that path before.  I would rather he would be in the 90th percentile of centerfielders in baseball and healthy than have him make 99th percentile plays and have him hurt for a chunk of the season. 

[RpR]

13 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Just reacting to my inner fear of him getting hurt easily on a superman play.  We've been down that path before.  I would rather he would be in the 90th percentile of centerfielders in baseball and healthy than have him make 99th percentile plays and have him hurt for a chunk of the season. 

He is paid to make THAT kind of  play,.

[Rod Carews Birthday]

2 hours ago, RpR said:

He is paid to make THAT kind of  play,.

Yes he is but his defensive impact from the DH spot sucks.  

[Linus]

5 hours ago, jmlease1 said:

I was thrilled to see him making a diving catch and pop up like he did it every day. He looks great out there, running freely, and it's so fun to see him back to being his best self in CF. He also looks good on the basepaths and is once again dangerous there too; I'm looking forward to a 3B or SS airmailing a throw to 1B because they rushed their throw on what should have been a routine grounder because Buxton flew out of the box. 

When healthy, he's the most consistently exciting player I've ever watched in a Twins uniform. (I didn't say "best"; lots of arguments on that, but for pure excitement he's #1)

I agree and I don’t anyone that would be even close in the excitement category. 

[USAFChief]

29 minutes ago, Rod Carews Birthday said:

Yes he is but his defensive impact from the DH spot sucks.  

If he's not making plays others don't make, his defensive impact from CF sucks, too.

The entire point of having him play is, having him be better than others. 

MLB is played at the edge of human performance. Trying to play at 90 percent is futile. Uou won't win, and you're not even guaranteed to stay healthy.

[MN Brian]

I'm just waiting for the chatter to become how much of a steal he is for his salary of $15million.  When that happens, he's back!

But damn, that was a nice catch!

[DocBauer]

The bat hasn't quite come around yet, but that catch was EPIC!

Yes, Buxton IS back. He looks good in the field, including ST, he's looked good on the bases as well, and looks like he feels good and is having fun again.

Now...can he STAY back? I sure hope so! He's dangerous and a joy to watch play!

[jkcarew]

I feel like we’re being force fed the Buxton ‘good news’. His slash line is what it is. Meanwhile, a recent TD article posited that Buxton’s frequent swings and misses this season are a ‘good sign’ because last year he was forced to take strikes. Really??

Can’t we wait for him to actually become productive, before we declare him ‘back’…or even ‘good’ with the bat in his hands? After all, counting on a 30-year-old guy with a career 300 OBP and a 106 OPS+…and a track record of extreme inconsistency…a guy who hasn’t been ‘good’ offensively by any definition since 2022, and a guy who has never had anything close to a good AND complete season in his career…for that guy to be the one ‘largely’ responsible for a club’s offensive renaissance this season is bold, if not a bit of a stretch.

In the meantime, his value remains primarily defensive…which is great, because that value remains significant.

[jimbo92107]

Byron Buxton puts butts in the seats because he does things other humans cannot do. You can't ask him to stop making superstar plays while he still has the youth and the body to make us cheer like it's Fourth of July. 

There will come a time when Buxton can no longer do these things. Until then, let us celebrate his glorious youth, as we all should. What a ballplayer!