Byron Buxton's return to centerfield earlier this week was a reason for the Minnesota Twins and Twins fans to celebrate. It had been over 500 days since the Gold Glove caliber Buxton got to play in the field thanks to numerous injuries.
While he may have played some, it was in the designated hitter role and even with that, Buxton missed significant time. But now, Buxton and the Twins are confident he's healthy enough to play in the field and on Tuesday it happened for real. At least "spring training real".
Buxton talked to Vineeta Sawkar on the WCCO Morning News about a ball hit his way in that game, one where he thought about diving for it. Buxton opted not to do that, noting that it was still just a spring game after all.
"I honestly wanted to see if I could get to the ball," Buxton explained. "You know, it's just one of those things where you're testing yourself out. But, you also have to be smart about it and know this is your first game back out here in years. It was good. For me to be able to do what I did, didn't dive for the ball, got the ball in quickly, that was a positive for me."
Buxton also told Sawkar about some of last year's struggles and the support he received. He went on the disabled list August 1 after struggling with a bad knee and only got one more at-bat the rest of the season, in the game four loss to Houston in the Division Series that ended the Twins season. Buxton popped out.
"They had my back for that, you know, there's a lot of teams that don't allow their players to go out into the field and even attempt things like that," says Buxton. "So for me, that was a big key and to my mental part, of every day when I go to the field, be present, be there for the guys whether I'm in pain or not."
Buxton says he's still a long ways away from where he wants to be once the regular season starts, but he's also happy and confident with the way he feels for the first time in a very long time.
The injuries and mental hurdles that come with that have put baseball in perspective for Buxton who says at this point, he just wants to play and have fun.
"Baseball doesn't last forever. Enjoy every day."