Byron Buxton Is a Top 2 AL Outfielder, So Why Is He 13th in All-Star Voting?

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The first wave of MLB All-Star voting results dropped this week, and one thing is immediately clear: Byron Buxton is being overlooked. Again.

Buxton landed 13th among American League outfielders with 219,808 votes, trailing players like Jarren Duran, George Springer, and Daulton Varsho, none of whom are having a season remotely close to Buxton’s. Let’s run the numbers.

Among AL outfielders, entering the weekend:

• Buxton ranks 2nd in fWAR (2.9), behind only Aaron Judge

• 2nd in wRC+ (148), again trailing only Judge

• 3rd in home runs (15)

• 6th in stolen bases

And he’s doing all that while playing Gold-Glove caliber center field. He’s crashing into walls, robbing home runs, and making catches that defy logic.

Buxton is finally healthy, finally playing center field again, and doing it all at an elite level. For years, the only thing holding him back was availability. This season, aside from a brief IL stint with a concussion, he’s been in the lineup almost every day. He’s not just living up to expectations. He’s surpassing them.

So why isn’t he getting the recognition?

It’s not about team success. The Twins are hovering around .500, just like the Mariners, Angels, Guardians, and Red Sox. Those teams all have players ahead of Buxton in the voting.

The reality is more frustrating.

Major League Baseball has long failed to market its stars, especially those outside of big markets. Byron Buxton is the exact kind of player baseball should be promoting: fast, powerful, highlight-reel ready. But he plays in Minnesota. And that means national exposure is minimal.

But the national vote isn’t the only issue.

Twins fans also need to look in the mirror. Yes, it’s hard to stay engaged. The frustration with ownership, declining Target Field attendance, and front office decisions is real and valid. But the disinterest that's grown out of those frustrations is showing up in moments like this. And it’s a shame.

Because Byron Buxton has given everything to this franchise. He’s battled injuries year after year, stayed positive, signed a long-term extension to remain in Minnesota, and stuck it out through tough seasons and nasty things said about him online constantly. Now he’s finally healthy, finally playing happy, and he’s playing better than ever.

Twins fans should be celebrating this. Voting Buxton into the All-Star Game isn’t about rewarding ownership. It’s about recognizing and honoring one of the most exciting, loyal, and elite players this franchise has ever had.

We’ve seen fan bases step up before. Remember when Royals fans packed the All-Star ballot in 2016, getting players like Omar Infante into the game? It can be done. So let’s do it.

Go to MLB.com/vote and vote Byron Buxton into the All-Star Game. Vote today. Vote tomorrow. Vote every day. Don’t let another season go by where Byron Buxton doesn’t get the national recognition he’s earned. Let’s make sure baseball’s most electrifying center fielder is in Atlanta this July where he belongs.

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[TheLeviathan]

The fan base is disengaged, I'm not sure how much more apparent that can be.

[DJL44]

I clicked through, selected my players but there is no way in hell I'm giving them my contact information so they can sign me up for another mailing list.

[tony&rodney]

If Buxton remains healthy he will be the Minnesota Twins representative in the All Star Game. Having Byron in the lineup and playing excellent baseball has been a joy. He may not be the centerfielder he once was but he is still a decent defender out there. I'm loving have him at the top of the lineup.

[Schmoeman5]

WHO CARES? 2nd or 13th. He is not the 2nd best outfielder. He's healthy and playing at the level long hoped for by Twins fans. He'll be selected to play in the all-star game at the Atlanta BRAVES stadium in July. Look in the mirror. That's rich.  😊 

[LambchoP]

He is the best player on our team this year for sure. It's just too bad that he's the best player on a bad team....

[Dave Borton]

2 hours ago, TheLeviathan said:

The fan base is disengaged, I'm not sure how much more apparent that can be.

We are a passive people to begin with and this year's play hasn't helped that passivity.

[theBOMisthebomb]

Buxton will get the one representative pity pick that will go to the Twins in 2025. It is good timing since the All Star game is in Buxton's home state. 

[olerud]

That All star stuff makes no difference to me.  BUCK IS A STUD!!! that asg voting is so skewed because of ny and la I quit caring about that sometime ago but that's just me. 

[ryan189]

because it's a popularity contest not how you play

[Doctor Wu]

12 hours ago, ryan189 said:

because it's a popularity contest not how you play

Yes, this whole voting process is flawed to begin with. It would be shocking if any Twins player in any given year received enough votes to be a starter. The masses are just voting for the same old names or hometown favorites. 

[Russ]

Nationally, the Twins are an after thought.  MLB markets the big markets and with those who win.

Been this way for decades. Luckily at least one player gets named, unless players named won't or can't play, replacements get added 

[Whitey333]

I'm not surprised to see another Buxton promotion article on TD.  After all it's been several days.  Buxton is having g a very good year.  Without him the Twins would be 3-13 in their last 16 games.  Oh that's right they are 3-13 with him playing and he's playing great.  This will mark just the second year in his ten years with the Twins that he has played a full season and he's playing great.  But he and the Twins earn their negative perceptions.  Buxton I am sure will be named the Twins representative for the all star game and he deserves it.   Who cares if fans vote him in or not?  Does it really matter?

[Twins GFP]

Professional sport's All-Star games are just another way to keep fans engaged in the sport. It is nothing more than a popularity issue. The fact that MLB felt they needed to put stakes on a fan oriented exhibition game (home field advantage in WS) is a joke.

In 2023 the Rangers had 5 position players in the starting lineup. Tough to take any of that all-star starter stuff seriously. 

[MMMordabito]

Look in mirror .... Hahaha ... Most Twins fans looking in the mirror right now, myself inclueded, are probably asking why they spend the amount of time they do following this team. Doubling down to pee into the wind of a popularity contest really isn't in the cards ATM.

[AKTwinsFan]

It's because the team is not doing well. If the team was doing good behind him then the fans would feel more enthusiastic about actually voting. Willi Castro has been great too. 

[The Great Hambino]

UPDATE:

Buxton's recent hot streak has rocketed him up the ASG voting OF standings ... all the way to 10th

Willi holds steady at 7th among 2Bs

No other Twin cracks the top 10 at their position (and no other outfielder in the top 20)

I'm starting to think the Twins might not have a starter in this year's game

 

Also, if the vote ended today, there would be a Dodger in the final round of voting at every position

[mluebker]

He’s spent so little time on the field in recent years that few outside of Minnesota pay any attention to him anymore. Those who do pay attention probably want to vote for someone they’re confident will be there, not on the IL. And all of that is a shame because he’s unquestionably having an all-star year.

[The Great Hambino]

Another thought on Buxton's struggles to gain traction in the voting: because of his cold start and concussion, his overall stats at the time voting opened were pretty pedestrian and he was easy to pass over on the ballot.  Since voting opened, his OPS has increased almost 100 points and he's playing like a deserving all star.

But those low vote totals from the early part of voting are still on his ledger.  It's not like a weekly power ranking or something like that where you scrap the previous ranking to build a new one; those early voting results carry the same weight as the ones reflecting his current form.  He could've borrowed Aaron Judge's God Mode cheat code over the last three weeks and it still would have been too much to overcome that early deficit.

If they were interested in making sure the best-performing players are represented in the All-Star Game (they're not), they would make the voting window much shorter or give more weight to voting results later in the process.