Over the last month, it's no secret that we've become a Byron Buxton Stan account. Finally healthy, Buxton has been the best outfielder in the American League not named Aaron Judge, and yet was still egregiously disrespected during the voting for the American League All-Star starters. Fortunately, Buxton was named to the American League All-Star team as a reserve and will be participating in the Home Run Derby on Monday.
Buxton will have endless opportunities this week to steal the spotlight, but on Saturday, the Twins' center fielder made history before the events even began.
With a flourish, he became the first player to hit for the cycle at Target Field since the park opened in 2010.
A day Twins Territory won’t soon forget! pic.twitter.com/4aPF8wFcbx
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 13, 2025
Byron Buxton makes Twins history ahead of All-Star appearance
Ironically, the timing couldn't have been better for Buxton, as the promotion at Target Field on Saturday was Byron Buxton bobblehead day. However, Twins fans were almost robbed of history. Given that Buxton will be participating in the derby on Monday and likely getting some playing time during the All-Star Game on Tuesday, Twins' manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters after the game that Buxton was nearly pulled from Saturday's game.
“He was 4 -for-4 at the time. But with everything going on during a game, sometimes I’ll be the one that might miss on a hitting streak or something that’s going on with a particular player,” Baldelli told reporters. “But once they reminded me of that, he was going to stay in the game. He was going to get another at-bat, regardless of the score, and give him a chance to do something great.”
The Twins had a 10-3 lead in the seventh inning, and had Buxton not been going for the cycle, no one would have batted an eye had has been removed from the game. However, understanding the situation, Baldelli kept Buxton in the game, and the rest, as they say, was history.
After taking the first two games of the series, the Twins will go for the sweep on Sunday afternoon. A victory would bring the Twins back to the .500 mark on the season, and likely change how they are viewed ahead of the MLB trade deadline at the end of the month.