Is Byron Buxton Having One of the Best Seasons in Twins History?

[Matthew Taylor]

Image courtesy of © Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Byron Buxton’s 2025 season has been nothing short of electric. He's healthy (knock on wood), playing elite defense in center field, swiping bags with ease, and crushing baseballs at the plate. As the Twins push toward the postseason, it's worth asking the question: Is Buxton putting together one of the greatest individual seasons in Minnesota Twins history?

In 79 games (through Friday), Buxton has delivered a .939 OPS, 22 home runs, and 17 stolen bases without being caught. He’s racked up 4.0 fWAR and 4.1 bWAR already, and is currently carrying a 156 wRC+, meaning he's been 56 percent better than the average major league hitter. Combine that with his defensive contributions in center field and you've got a player who's impacting the game in almost every conceivable way.

With the Twins around 60 percent through the season, Buxton is on pace for a final stat line of about 135 games played, 33 home runs, 25 stolen bases, a .939 OPS, and roughly 6.5 WAR. That production level would put him in truly elite company when comparing across franchise history.

For OPS, Buxton's projected .939 would rank as the 10th highest in a single season in Twins history. The only names ahead of him are Nelson Cruz in 2019, Joe Mauer in 2009, Rod Carew in 1977, Harmon Killebrew multiple times in the 60s, Chuck Knoblauch in 1996, and Bob Allison in 1964. But here's the key: of those nine seasons, only Mauer and Knoblauch were playing premium defensive positions. Mauer was catching in his MVP season. Knoblauch was playing second base. Buxton is doing it in center field, one of the most demanding positions in the sport. So while his OPS might not be the very top in club history, it's arguably more impressive when you factor in the defensive value.

 

When looking at WAR, Buxton's projected 6.5 fWAR would be tied for 11th-best in Twins history. He’d be just behind the likes of Carew, Mauer, Knoblauch, Killebrew, Puckett, Versalles, and Allison. That group includes MVPs and Hall of Famers. Buxton wouldn’t be outpacing the very best seasons in club history, but he’s getting close.

One interesting lens is Win Probability Added (WPA), which captures how much a player contributes in high-leverage moments. WPA isn’t necessarily predictive and doesn’t scale linearly, so we can’t simply extrapolate it to the end of the season. But if we take what Buxton has done so far in clutch situations and extend that pace, he’d finish with about 3.4 WPA. That would put him behind only a few of the highest WAR seasons in Twins history, including Rod Carew in 1977 (5.8), Carew again in 1975 (4.7), and Joe Mauer in 2009 (3.9). That means in terms of clutch performance, Buxton is right up there with some of the all-time greats.

Where Buxton really separates himself is in the combination of power and speed. If he finishes with 30 or more home runs and 25 stolen bases, he would become the only player in Minnesota Twins history to ever hit those two marks in the same season. Add in the fact that he has yet to be caught stealing and you’re looking at a level of efficiency and explosiveness the franchise has never seen before. This isn't just about accumulating stats. It’s about doing things we’ve never seen in a Twins uniform.

 

So is Byron Buxton having the best season in Twins history? Probably not. The 1977 Rod Carew season and the 2009 Joe Mauer MVP year still hold the crown. The high-WAR seasons from Knoblauch, Killebrew, and Zoilo Versalles likely remain a step ahead too. But what is clear from the numbers is that Buxton is firmly in that conversation. He’s on pace for a top-10 season in Twins history. He’s delivering elite offensive value, bringing premium defense in center field, showing up in big moments, and blending speed and power in a way we’ve never seen in Minnesota before. 

This is a season to savor. We haven’t seen anything like this since Mauer’s MVP run. Who knows when we’ll see it again.

What do you think about Buxton’s 2025 season? Where does it rank in Twins history in your eyes? Can he maintain this pace? Drop your thoughts in the comments and join the conversation.

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[Rod Carews Birthday]

Well thought out and well supported article.  Thank you for not indulging in silliness that would have his season as “greatest ever” or anything like that.  Being an excellent season is just fine, I’ll gladly put it in the group of all-time Twins seasons.  Indeed Buxton is having an excellent season, one that will put him in the top ten all-time for Twins IF he continues to put up numbers for the rest of the season — which for Buxton is a pretty big IF.  To me, his potential to be the Twins only 30-30 player is his real ticket into that club.  It’s not very common league wide, and since it hasn’t ever been done by a Twin, it would be very memorable.  

[thelanges5]

Love to see a healthy and high performing Buxton. Sad to see it going to waste on this inconsistent team. Most of the rest of the guys are playing worse than league average or way below their career norms. Something to build on and someone to build around for the next 2-3 years.  

[theBOMisthebomb]

18 minutes ago, thelanges5 said:

Love to see a healthy and high performing Buxton. Sad to see it going to waste on this inconsistent team. Most of the rest of the guys are playing worse than league average or way below their career norms. Something to build on and someone to build around for the next 2-3 years.  

I'm not sure why it's a wasted season. This is the ultimate team sport. Although the Twins are just on the fringes of wild card contention and appear to be sliding out of relevance, Buxton's contributions have mattered. 

[Blyleven2011]

Buxton is having a good season  , he seems comfortable batting leadoff and hitting solo homeruns  , I think he should be batting third and would see better pitches and better production IF the hitters in front of him could get on base  ...

Buxton is definitely the twins MVP for this year  ...

[CRF]

He's having HIS best season. 

[mikelink45]

Nice historic perspective - it is always easy to look at a current player and elevate him above past players who have dimmed in our memory.  I think you did a good job of answering your own questions - 

Quote

So is Byron Buxton having the best season in Twins history? Probably not. 

and I agree with the following:

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He’s on pace for a top-10 season in Twins history. He’s delivering elite offensive value, bringing premium defense in center field, showing up in big moments, and blending speed and power in a way we’ve never seen in Minnesota before. 

 

[jkcarew]

Let’s wait and see if he can remain healthy and effective through August and September. And July. He’s having a great season, no doubt.

[saviking]

No

[Morland]

To the player seasons you mentioned I have to add one more. Though we don't like to remember him due to his attitude, Knoblauch had one of the great seasons in Twins history in 1996, earning 8.7 WAR for the season. Voters ignored him too, as he finished 16th in MVP voting. Buxton should finish considerably higher in MVP voting if he maintains his current pace.