Minnesota Twins: Byron Buxton Needs to Change or the Twins Will Pay
A day after Minnesota Twins manager Paul Molitor described Byron Buxton’s defense as “reckless”, Buxton crashed into a wall making yet another great grab.
Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton, is known for making diving grabs in the gaps and jumping against the fence to rob hits. The problem with his aggressive style of play, is it is also robbing him of playing time.
Buxton has sat out two days after leaving Thursday night’s game. This was a precaution after making hard contact with the center field fence. This is not the first time Buxton has missed time trying to turn extra base hits into outs.
In 2014, Byron Buxton had a scary collision in AA that left him unconscious for ten minutes. (WARNING: If you don’t want to see our buddy Buxton get hurt, do not watch this video.) He didn’t play another game until Fall.
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In 2015, Buxton sprained his thumb sliding headfirst into second base, spending more time on the disabled list.
These injuries are starting to pile up for what the Twins hope to be a their outfield cornerstone. A young talent that is racking up time on the pine, largely due to his inability to control his immense speed.
Buxton needs to learn when it is okay to turn down the throttle.
Sometimes it is better for the team to let a hit drop rather than sacrifice your body for an out. For example, Buxton chose to make the catch against the wall on Thursday. This potentially saved two runs on base and closed out the inning. The Twins still went on to lose that game.
That decision cost Buxton at least two days out the line up and per Phil Miller, he is still experiencing headaches.
Buxton having headaches, his body is sore today. But Molitor says it appears he won't go on concussion DL.
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) May 5, 2017
For Minnesota Twins fans, concussions make everyone’s heart sink. Corey Koskie, Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer have all had their prime’s stolen by concussions.
I’m not suggesting we wrap up Buxton in bubble wrap and treat the warning track like lava. Those that watched Delmon Young play left field know how that would turn out. However, Buxton does need to play more cautiously if he wants to make sure his career isn’t shortened.