The game of baseball needs Byron Buxton to stay healthy, because he does incredible things when he’s able to play.
The Minnesota Twins‘ center fielder crushed his 19th home run of the season to lead off Friday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The homer came on the game’s second pitch from Madison Bumgarner.
It was a 446-foot, 113-mph blast, and it looked every bit that impressive.
Tee-Buck ⚾️😱⚾️😱https://t.co/ScKmV9qy7a #VoteTwins pic.twitter.com/b74ryNjR4F
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) June 18, 2022
Buxton added a 108-mph double in his second at-bat.
The 19 homers are tied with Pete Alonso for second in the majors, behind only Aaron Judge (who’s blowing away the competition with 25 homers). Additionally, Buxton has already tied his career-high homers, set in 2021 over 254 plate appearances (he’s had 206 plate appearances in 2022).
Buxton also entered Friday tied for the MLB lead in homers this June with seven (now eight).
Byron Buxton has hit 52 home runs in his last 162 games.
He's the 4th Twins player to hit 50 homers in a 162-game span, joining Nelson Cruz, Roy Sievers, and Harmon Killebrew. pic.twitter.com/e7yNu4Jxc0
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 18, 2022
There’s never been reason to doubt the abilities of the former No. 1 prospect in baseball. It’s just a matter of staying on the field; Buxton is in year eight of his big-league career, and he’s played at least 93 games once (140 games in 2017). In 2021, he was worth 4.5 wins above replacement — per Baseball Reference — in just 61 games.
If Buxton can stay healthy (or even just play 100-plus games), the Minnesota Twins have a strong chance to remain atop the AL Central standings.
