Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson and Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton are two of the biggest names in baseball, and with that type of fame comes great expectations. Unfortunately for both superstar MLBbros, this season failed to meet lofty expectations for one reason or another.
Both clubs will miss the playoffs this year, but how does that happen?
Now of course the White Sox were the favorites entering the season, but after the Twins hot start turned into a hot couple of months there were some around baseball who thought Buxton and Co. could shock everyone and win the AL Central. First, let’s take a look at what went wrong in the Twin Cities.
Injury Bug Bites Buxton, Again
Buxton’s injury history has been well documented, especially here on MLBbro.com. It looked like we were finally about to get a full season of production out of Byron. He was hitting bombs and playing a Gold Glove caliber defense in center, and most importantly the Twins had jumped out to an early lead in the division.
That was until Buxton’s annual trip(s) to the injured list began yet again. Byron spent over a month on the shelf with a hip strain, and without their superstar, the chinks in Minnesota’s armor was quickly revealed. The Twins would slowly lose their grip on the division, and his return to the lineup was short-lived. After attempting to play through the pain of a sore knee, the first thing to send him to IR this season, Byron chose to undergo season ending knee surgery on Tuesday.
Buxton only played in 92 games this season, bringing his grand total of seasons with less than 100 games played to seven. That’s alarming when you consider the fact that he’s been in the league eight seasons and Minnesota opened the bank book for him with a $100M contract, expecting his injury woes to be behind him. Despite losing another season to injury, Byron seems optimistic about his season being done.
White Sox Stumbled and Never Recovered
Now injuries may have cut Tim Anderson’s season short as well, but the Chicago White Sox were mediocre at best even with TA in the lineup. They struggled to get to .500 on the season, and even when they did reach the mark they didn’t elevate much further. As it stands, the White Sox will most likely finish nearly 20 games under their projected 98 game win total.
Anderson, much like Buxton in Minny, played well to start the season despite his teams struggles. He was still arguably the best leadoff hitter in the game, although his power numbers began to plummet. Now that we know torn ligaments in his hand were the cause of his season ending surgery, there should be some optimism around his power returning.
Even if his power returns, chances are high that the White Sox will look like a completely different ball club. Their owner Jerry Reinsdorf is known for only wanting to win on his terms, and those terms never involve paying a high premium for mediocre results. Look for the Sox to make some changes this year, from the Hall of Fame manager on down.
Although free agency is a few years away for Anderson, Sox fans should begin to wonder if Reinsdorf will even pay to keep him in Chicago. The White Sox have never given out a contract valued over $100 million in team history, and with his cache in the game today it’s safe to say that won’t be enough to keep TA7 in Chicago.
The Minnesota Twins are in a battle in the AL Central. This team has a strong chance to make the postseason and it could potentially come down to the final game of the regular season.
Right now, the team is without All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton.
Buxton, an important piece to this team, has not played since August 22 as he suffered a strained right hip which put him on the injured list.
This was the first time this season that the centerfielder landed on the IL and it could not have come at a worse time. Despite his absence on the field, Buxton continues to show his leadership qualities while he’s away from the game. It’s not easy being unable to play and help your team succeed, especially in a situation like this, with the postseason on the line.
But Buxton continues to keep his composure and have a positive presence, because he knows his teammates are looking at him and he’s a leader on the team. He knows his energy is contagious throughout the clubhouse and he’s going to keep a positive mindset while he’s on the IL.
“It was something that just kind of stuck with me the last couple days, watching us play, and it didn’t look like we were smiling, being positive, having fun like we normally would,” Buxton said in an article from mlb.com. “So that’s something I feel like I can bring back, turn it around, even if I’m not playing.”
It’s important that Buxton gets back to full strength because the Twins can’t afford to lose him again at any point this season. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli believes that Buxton will be in a better position when he returns from the IL.
“He’s probably, hopefully, going to be in a better spot when he comes off the IL than where he’s been for about four and a half months,” he said. “He’s probably going to be feeling better. Do I know that? I don’t know that with certainty, but I’m hopeful of that, and I think it’s realistic.”
There’s no exact date on his return, but Buxton could potentially return to the lineup sometime this weekend or maybe before.
On the season, Buxton is hitting .224 with 28 home runs and 51 RBI. Buxton will need to return to the Twins lineup and help bring that spark that he’s provided throughout the season if they hope to slide into the playoffs.
One of the most interesting stories in Major League Baseball history is the three-way relationship between the team, the player and their fanbase.
The uneasy partnership varies from love/hate to sometimes toxic. One of the more recent examples was in Oakland when the team set franchise records in futility for attendance with crowds between 2000-3000 fans at the beginning of the season.
While the most publicized storyline of the season resides in New York where MLBbro Aaron Judge decided to leave a $230 million extension on the table and is currently leading baseball in homers.
But the most intriguing storyline is in Minnesota surrounding the playing time of their superstar and our MLBbro, Byron Buxton. Not only is he the undisputed best player of the Twins, but he is also the best baseball player in the world if you ask his teammate Carlos Carrera via the New York Times.
“He’s the best player in the world, no doubt about it,”
The Twins have played close to a quarter of their 2022 schedule and their fan base, despite their team projected to hit close to triple digits in wins this season, are getting more and more frustrated by each passing series.
Fans want to see Buxton in the lineup everyday while the team plans to play him approximately 100-110 games this season to monitor and protect the right knee patella tendinitis that has limited him to an average of 54 games the last four seasons.
It’s really easy to understand the frustrations from the fan perspective. When Byron Buxton plays, this team wins and wins a lot. Since 2019, Minnesota has the best winning percentage at .634 in team history with a 130-75 record. To put this in perspective, the 1965 pennant winning team is next in line at .630. The narrative is clear here. When our MLBbro, Byron Buxton plays, the Twins are exciting to watch and win games at a high clip.
On the other hand, the pendulum swings the other way when Buxton is out of the lineup. Minnesota has a 96-110 record when he’s sidelined.
Now the discussion goes to the franchise that signed our MLBbro to a seven-year, $100 million contract with a “no trade” clause. The Twins medical staff requires him to take days off for therapy and rest on his knee. Putting Buxton in the lineup at DH is not a viable option because swinging aggravates his knee. With aspirations of a World Series in sight, the team is making sure that Buxton’s knee is not problematic during the postseason.
Plus, the Twins have a long list of injury issues with their superstar. Since 2015, Buxton has had injuries to his left thumb, both wrists, left big toe, groin, left shoulder and right hip. Throw in migraines and a concussion, it’s easy to see why the franchise have been ultra-careful with their biggest prize in Byron.
Whether he’s called the best or injury prone, our MLBbro just wants to get healthy and play to the best of his abilities which leads to wins.
“That doesn’t matter to me, either,” Buxton said. “For me to do that, I’ve got to go out there and prove that. I know I haven’t played enough games, but I know I can be that, which is fun to me. That’s what keeps me on my toes – something’s always gonna happen. There’s that anxiousness. For me that’s a challenge, and I like challenges.”
The challenge for the Minnesota Twins for the rest of the season is selling to their fans that resting Byron Buxton for periods throughout the season is a necessary evil to make a deep postseason run.
Why? Because the fans have the mindset of Carlos Carrera when it comes to our MLBbro.
“Nobody has more talent than him. Nobody throws harder. Nobody runs faster. So when you talk about talent and you talk about tools, this is the most gifted out of all of them out there.”
The question surrounding the organization now is…How much do Minnesota fans get to witness going forward this season?
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