Twins outfielder Byron Buxton has established himself in Minnesota, and has no plans to leave - just listen to how emphatically he endorsed his permanent home in response to Jon Heyman. Buxton is also undeniably a Georgia native, though, and his homecoming was used to full effect in Atlanta to promote the All-Star Game.
Buxton extolled the virtues of his home state in a pregame message on the video board (alongside Matt Olson), and told reporters at media day that the most "Georgia things he could think of" were peaches and the comfort of the wooded countryside.
But when it comes to another Georgia icon, Buxton has no time to mince words: The Freeze, the sprinter who's captured national attention by blitzing past eager competitors at Truist Park, would stand no chance against him. Especially if he adhered to the current mechanics of the race.
"If you gave me that head start, it'd be by quite a bit," Buxton told FanSided's Adam Weinrib at MLB All-Star Media Day.
Minnesota Twins' Byron Buxton knows he can beat Atlanta's The Freeze
See, most adversaries of The Freeze receive a significant head start, in order to set up a dramatic conclusion where the ringer catches them from behind and dashes their hopes. Buxton certainly doesn't need that leg up, and an honest-to-goodness matchup between the two would've been incredible theather on All-Star Weekend. It probably also would've been unsafe, but ... man, so fun.
Ok, fine. Let's play by The Freeze's rules, though. Let's give Buxton the early jump. What does the stage picture look like at the finish line?
"I'd say [I'd beat him by] about two semi-truck lengths, if you give me that head start," the Twins star concluded.
The specificity of "two semi-truck lengths" really makes it seem like he's thought about this before.
Even without participating in the Race of the Century, Buxton still had himself an eventful All-Star break. He held his own in the Home Run Derby, advancing to the second round before falling 8-7 to Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays. He then keyed the American League's dramatic rally in the ninth inning with a one-out double off Robert Suarez.
Now, it's time for the second half, where the Twins might determine their trade deadline role in the days to come, entering the second half four games back of a Wild Card spot with the sharks circling. Of course, as Buxton knows, it's a marathon, not a sprint (and he'd win both of those things too, by the way).