Mizutani: Byron Buxton is every bit deserving of this All-Star moment

As superstar center fielder Byron Buxton prepares for a homecoming this week with the Home Run Derby and the All Star Challenge taking place at Truist Park in Atlanta it s fitting that injury scare last week briefly threatened his ability to compete It s no secret Buxton has battled a long list of injuries since being selected by the Twins with the No overall pick in the MLB Draft It s been the fatal flaw for a prized prospect that burst onto the scene seemingly without any to his name Though there were flashes of brilliance for Buxton he was slowly but surely starting to look like a classic circumstance of unrealized likely Not anymore After so several instances of his body betraying him Buxton in the end looks the competitor the Twins inevitably knew he could be He s been locked in at the plate with home runs and runs batted in He s added to that production by going a perfect for on stolen base attempts He s also provided otherworldly defense in center field a couple of seasons removed from not being healthy enough to play his natural position You can t play baseball much better than Buxton has for the Twins as of late Which is why all of Minnesota held its collective breath last week when Buxton was pulled from the lineup after being hit by a pitch early in contest against the Chicago Cubs Though the Twins at once took the edge off by announcing Buxton had only suffered a left hand contusion it was unclear if he would be ready to go for the Home Run Derby and the All Star Encounter Those doubts disappeared a scant of days later when Buxton made a report during a battle against the Pittsburgh Pirates A insufficient hours after his bobblehead was being given away in the lead up to first pitch Buxton hit for the cycle for the first time in Target Field history His teammates doused him with water after the incredible performance in what almost felt like a washing away of all the bad luck that has plague him throughout his career It takes a special kind of person to persevere through everything Buxton has had to persevere through since making his major league debut more than a decade ago The willpower required to get himself back to this level of play can t be overstated It would ve been easy for him to throw in the towel as the injuries started to pile up That s completely not how he s wired All it did was add fuel to the fire He continued to get his body ready for battle even when his body wouldn t invariably cooperate The payoff will come this week for Buxton and it couldn t sweeter He gets to compete in the Home Run Derby and the All Star Event a meager hours from his hometown of Baxley Georgia and he ll get to share the experience it with his family including his -year-old son Brixton who couldn t be more excited for the occasion It s easy to feel good for Buxton given how hard he s had to work to get to this point He s every bit deserving of this moment with Twins Hopefully he s been able to take a step back and enjoy it Related Articles Meet the Twins lifer pitching to Byron Buxton in the Home Run Derby Cole Sands embrace of opener role benefitting Twins Making a splash Byron Buxton hits for cycle in Twins win against Pirates Why the Twins nearly had to pull Joe Ryan after one inning Friday Joe Ryan survives early struggles as Twins beat Pirates ace Paul Skenes