TORONTO -- Eight years ago to the day, Byron Buxton had a career game at Rogers Centre. Now he’s added another.
Buxton homered twice in the Twins’ 9-8 loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday night, finishing one short of the three homers he hit on Aug. 27, 2017, in this same ballpark. It was a fitting way to mark Buxton’s 100th game played this season, a milestone he’s achieved for two seasons in a row now.
“The biggest thing I remember is that was the first Players’ Weekend,” Buxton said from his locker. “ … Yeah, the three-homer game back then was special. I remember [Brian] Dozier coming up to me in the dugout, and [Joe] Mauer, and they’re like, ‘I bet you can't do it again.’ It's just one of those where it's baseball. It's tough to do that, so I definitely cherish it.”
Everything is a little different now. The ballpark dimensions have changed, as have the faces sitting beside Buxton in the dugout. He’s also a little different, no longer a young hitter working to establish himself but a veteran mainstay in a clubhouse that has a lot to gain from a steady presence.
“[I have] just more experience in the game,” said Buxton. “Knowing who I am as a person and a player, that definitely changed. Your confidence starts to go up the more you see guys, the more you're up here, the more that you're in that grind. So I definitely think that my experience and wisdom definitely help me kind of keep it sane when I'm up here.”
After years of dealing with various injuries, most notably to his knee and hip, the 31-year-old Buxton has been mostly healthy for the past two seasons. That’s in large part a product of his own discipline and methodical work alongside the Twins’ medical staff. Buxton wants to be on the field, and he understands it may take him a bit more effort than for other players.
“It's all gone well,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said before the game. “It's all gone according to plan, and he's done a great job of all the daily work that needs to be put in to stay out there, successful and strong on the field. He considers that his duty. He works very hard to be out there.”
The Twins are a “different team” when Buxton is out there, Baldelli added. Look no further than Wednesday’s game for an example of that.
Buxton’s power display -- including his seventh leadoff blast of the season -- sparked a huge night for Minnesota’s bats, as Luke Keaschall and Brooks Lee added a homer each as part of a 12-hit outing with five stolen bases for the visitors. Even when Buxton hit the ball on the ground, he still found a way to make it productive, running hard down the line and forcing a throwing error by Bo Bichette that allowed him to advance to second base in the fourth inning. He scored on an RBI single by Ryan Jeffers in the next at-bat.
The Twins couldn’t hold onto the lead, but the offensive positives can’t be overlooked. This is about more than one game in late August.
“You’ve got to keep each other up,” said Buxton. “Obviously, the last couple of at-bats [of the game] for me didn't go the way I wanted to. So I've had a few guys coming here just to let me know it's perfectly fine. And just knowing they got my back -- and they know I got their back -- that's what's going to make us turn that page a little bit quicker, rather than walking around here moping. We're going to be fine. That's the exciting part about moving forward.”
This hasn’t been the season the Twins envisioned, but Buxton’s individual numbers tell a story of success. With his pair of home runs, Buxton is now one shy of his single-season career high of 28, which he set in 92 games in 2022. His 64 RBIs on the year are already a career high.
Just as important, Buxton is finding the excitement in the day ahead. Baseball is way more enjoyable when you’re not playing through a slew of aches and pains.
“He's doing it all right now, and he's really doing everything like a superstar player should do,” said Baldelli. “So with the way he's playing right now, he's very likely a Silver Slugger center fielder playing Gold Glove defense. What else do you want? He's doing it all. He looks great.”