Byron Buxton says All-Star Game in Georgia is great, but Minnesota is his MLB home

ATLANTA — Byron Buxton has given a lot of thought lately to the concept of “home.” He probably used no word more often than that one during his hourlong question-and-answer session Monday, ahead of his appearance in the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game, calling himself blessed to be able to perform in his home state, just a couple of hours away from his hometown of Baxley, Ga.

“I’m from a small town, so to be able to come home, to show kids there that nothing is impossible, that as long as you put the work in, you can do it —that gives me a really good feeling. This is a once-in-a-lifetime memory,” Buxton said. “Nothing is more important to me than home, except for my family. And they’re kind of the same thing.”

So, coming from a man to whom home has such a spiritual meaning, it was startling to hear Buxton’s choice of words when he was asked whether he would someday like to play for the Atlanta Braves here in Truist Park, where his fellow Georgians could see him play every day.

“I’ve got a no-trade clause — I’m a Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life,” Buxton said without hesitation. “That’s the best feeling in the world, knowing when I when I walk into the clubhouse every day, it’s going to say Twins. I love Minnesota — that’s home.”

Home? Like, home home?

“It is. Baxley, it’s where I’m from, and I go back every offseason. Once our season is over, I’ll be back there. Back home,” Buxton said. “But I don’t want to play anywhere else. The team, the people, the city — they made me who I am and made me a part of it there. That’s home, too.”

If Buxton sounds more philosophical, more thoughtful, than the 21-year-old phenom who arrived in his adopted hometown just more than a decade ago, he would agree with that. And though part of it is simply wisdom borne of age, not to mention parenting three young boys, Buxton also says his outlook is a product of something he has experienced only rarely during his MLB career.

Health.

“This past offseason, I had a lot of mental clarity, a chance to get back to being myself. It surprised me,” Buxton said. “Not having to worry about rehab, about whether you’ll be ready for spring training, to just have that freedom every morning of knowing you’re OK; it was so much of a mental break. It showed me how much [a long history of injury was] wearing on me, how important it was to get back to playing the game I love the way I love to.”

And sharing that love, too.

“I got to coach my boys. When you see kids playing baseball, they don’t care about any outside noise. They just care about playing the game,” Buxton said. “That’s what I got back to. Baseball is back to being fun now.”

There is proof of that all over Buxton’s play this season, the 21 homers by midseason, just seven off his career high, the 17-for-17 success rate as a base stealer. His 4.1 wins above replacement, on pace to easily break his career-best 5.0 in 2017. The audacity to celebrate Buxton bobblehead day Saturday by becoming the first player in Target Field history to hit for the cycle.

And by his selection to his second All-Star Game, as the second-highest vote-getter among outfielders on the ballots that MLB players turned in last month.

“It’s humbling, it is. This here, this was never really on my calendar, because I haven’t been healthy for so long,” Buxton said. “My biggest goal was to be able to go to the ballpark every day and tell the manager I want to play center field. Every day. And I appreciate the respect I’ve been given my doing that.”

The slugger predicted Monday afternoon that he would hit 18 home runs in the Home Run Derby that night. He shortchanged himself: He reached the seats 20 times in the three-minute first round, including six in seven swings during the bonus round, to advance to the head-to-head semifinals.

But Buxton, being fed batting-practice pitches by Twins coach Tommy Watkins, appeared tired when he returned to the batter’s box. He managed only six in the two-minute round and added just one in the bonus round.

His challenger, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, blasted eight into the seats in just one minute, eliminating Buxton one round from the finals. Buxton’s semifinal finish keeps Justin Morneau as the Twins’ only derby winner, having beaten Josh Hamilton in 2008 at Yankee Stadium.

Buxton, who started in center field and homered in his second at-bat at the 2022 All-Star Game at Dodger Stadium, this time will sub into the lineup around midgame for fan-elected starter Javier Báez of Detroit. He will be well-supported by all the family members and Baxley residents he brought along but is likely to receive a big ovation from his fellow Georgians, too.

Before the game, he will walk the Red Carpet into the stadium, an event that Buxton made memorable in Los Angeles by wearing a striking teal-colored suit with matching jackets for his sons.

Can he top that look?

“Maybe,” he nodded. “The boys picked it out, so it’ll be good.”