Minnesota Twins: 5 Reasons why Byron Buxton’s Extension is a Big Deal
By Otto Johnson
Reason No. 2 why Buxton’s deal is so Important for the Minnesota Twins: Homegrown Fan Favorite Stays in Minnesota
There have been several homegrown fan favorites that have grown into franchise icons, one or two for each era of Twins baseball. Harmon Killebrew in the 1960s. Tony Oliva and Rod Carew from the late 1960s to 1970s. Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, and the World Series teams in the 1980s and 1990s.
Torii Hunter in the early 2000s, Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau in the late 2000s and Mauer himself in the 2010s. All homegrown talent that were easy to root for, and most of whom have a history of staying put. Byron Buxton is next in that line.
Killebrew and Morneau remained Twins through most of their careers before the Twins felt the need to move on and Carew and Hunter would have if the front office/ownership had treated them properly. Puckett, Oliva, Hrbek, and Mauer spent their entire careers here. The Twins have a reputation of hanging on to their most talented fan favorites and they did it once again.
Buxton’s speed, incredible defense, gaudy power and generally great attitude make him extremely well liked by fans, teammates and the organization while being fun to watch. The extension keeps that fan favorite where he belongs. He’s not just a fan favorite though, which brings me to reason No. 3.