Twins’ Byron Buxton named to All-Star Game in home state of Georgia

An All-Star Challenge appearance no matter where it is is a special honor and acknowledgement But for Byron Buxton with the battle being held in Atlanta a little over three hours from his hometown of Baxley Georgia it s even sweeter To do it back home with this Twins uniform on it s a blessing Buxton stated Everybody doesn t get to play as various years as I do and to be able to do it with the Twins and know I m going to do it with the Twins every year I make it that s something special to me and my family Buxton was named to the American League All-Star unit on Sunday as the Twins lone representative with other deserving candidates like starter Joe Ryan and closer Jhoan Duran on the outside looking in The center fielder s inclusion on the roster comes as no surprise considering he s been among the best players in the league this year Buxton who hit a home run in the Twins - loss to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday is hitting with home runs RBIs an OPS and stolen bases on attempts to go along with his usual Gold Glove-caliber defense He s been as healthy physically as he s been in years missing two weeks with a concussion after colliding with shortstop Carlos Correa in mid-May but otherwise playing nearly every day It will be the second All-Star Contest appearance of his career The first came in during which he hit a home run which served as the game-winning run in the American League s - preeminence The biggest thing for me is last time I went to the event as far as my family it was four of us Buxton disclosed We then added a kid so being able to make it back with my whole family this time is very special That all-star season was cut short when he underwent season-ending knee surgery in September A year later he did not appear at all in center field serving strictly as the Twins designated hitter He ended up having a second surgery on his right knee that year too Buxton landed on the injured list twice last year once with knee inflammation and once with hip inflammation during an otherwise strong season This year he s been even healthier and even better It s a kind of resurgence because he was still playing well for us he was doing a lot of things he was productive but to be able to get prime Buxton basically every day you re getting it every day that s a whole different deal manager Rocco Baldelli reported I think in his mind this was dependably coming and in my mind it was invariably coming but when you certainly see it and you indeed get it and it s in front of you every day it s a beautiful thing While he is at the moment the club s lone representative it s feasible that the Twins get another all star or two in the coming days due to players dropping out of the event Ryan who gave up two runs in six innings on Sunday has a earned-run average now and has been among the best starters in the American League but every gang demands a representative which ate into chosen of the available roster spots Joe s in my mind clearly had another All-Star first half and he takes a ton of pride in what he does Baldelli stated He d totally love to be out there and pitching in an All-Star Meeting and just being acknowledged as one of the best pitchers in the encounter because he is And so is Duran with his ERA But whether or not one or two of his teammates wind up joining him it s clear that Buxton will savor the time spent back home in Georgia with his family representing the Twins How a large number of times is the All-Star Battle played in your hometown and you re having just a splendid season and you get a chance to go Baldelli questioned That will never happen for majority of guys It s an actual once in a lifetime situation Related Articles Twins come back twice but fall to Rays in series finale Twins ride bullpen in win over Rays Brooks Lee gives Twins a walk-off win for second straight day Charley Walters The year Paul Molitor coached Ichiro Suzuki Bailey Ober working on mechanics while on IL other Twins progressing well