Friday, June 27

MINNEAPOLIS -- Plenty of people around the Twins would love to see Joe Ryan or Jhoan Duran or Willi Castro receive an invitation to play in next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

But for Byron Buxton to be selected would be extra special. Not just for Buxton himself, but for the entire organization. The longest-tenured Twin by far, Buxton has remarkably only been an All-Star one previous time, when he started in center field for the American League at Dodger Stadium in 2022.

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That’s despite an 11-year career that has seen him establish himself as one of the finest and most popular players in Twins history. Of course, injuries are a significant part of Buxton’s story, and a significant part of why he hasn’t made more Midsummer Classics. Still, it’s a bit hard to believe that if he’s selected this year, it will only be his second trip to the All-Star Game. 

And so for him to be recognized this year would be a big deal. 

“Everyone pulls for him,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “Everyone likes seeing him do well for the team, but also they appreciate what he does for the rest of the group, the way he conducts himself on and off the field. Everyone has a tremendous amount of respect for him because he’s a team-first player in every way. Guys don’t think about everyone like that. That’s not the truth of the matter. He’s a special teammate to a lot of people.” 

As of the most recent round of voting, Buxton had climbed from 13th to 10th among American League outfielders. He needs help if he’s going to be elected by fans, but given his numbers, it’s hard to imagine Buxton won’t be selected to the roster. 

“A lot of guys are having great years, but definitely he’s the one that’s been at the forefront of it, and I think definitely deserves it,” said Carlos Correa, a three-time All-Star. “You can make an argument for Duran, and Joe, and all that, so many players around the league; the picking process can always be tough for the Commissioner and the league, but definitely Buck should be in there.” 

And if he is in the game? It’s safe to assume he’ll make it more entertaining. 

“When you see guys who work their butts off and it’s always something, there’s always a speed bump, there’s always an extra obstacle that they have to jump over or maneuver around, [it’s extra meaningful],” said Twins TV analyst and former pitcher LaTroy Hawkins. “But seeing him out there every day in center field, it’s fun for me. I told him, ‘I enjoy watching our games when you’re in the lineup. I don’t care if you strike out four times. Just you being in the lineup changes everything.'” 

With Twins pitchers struggling, pitching coach Pete Maki convened a meeting before Tuesday’s game against the Mariners. Starting pitchers, relievers, and catchers were all invited. The message, according to multiple people, was largely about concentrating on the things that pitchers can control: throwing strikes, making good decisions, pitching with confidence. 

“Whenever you’re going through a tough stretch,” said starter Bailey Ober, “you need to have each other’s backs and try to support one another whenever we’re going through hard times like we have been the last couple weeks. Just being able to come together as a group and support each other, it always means a lot. It was a good, successful meeting. I thought it was well needed and hopefully we come out of that and kind of turn the script.”

Baldelli said he supported the decision to gather the pitchers together.

“I thought it was a really good idea,” he said. “It was something that Pete and I had talked about. Pete led the way and even some guys in the room spoke -- [Chris] Paddack, actually. ... He had some words for the group and they were emotional and they were very good and they were positive and they were looking forward on ways that we’re going to get where we need to be. He spoke from the heart and I loved it, to be honest with you.

“The meeting was something that really stemmed from the following idea: There are things you can control and that you should attack and there are things that you have less control over.” 

Paddack, who started the first game after the meeting, didn’t have a great outing Tuesday night but still said the meeting was extremely valuable. 

“It kind of got us fired up for the game, got me fired up,” he said. “I wanted to run through a wall after hearing him talk, so maybe he needs to host a meeting every one of my outings... 

“We had goals in Spring Training as a pitching staff. Starters, relievers, you don’t set goals if you can’t go back to them and see how you’re doing -- and that’s kind of what it was, just a checkpoint throughout the season of, ‘Hey guys, this is what we looked like in May. This is what we did really well. This is why. What has changed?’ … Definitely respect for Pete for calling that meeting. I think we needed to hear that.” 

The Twins announced their second postgame concert for this season, with country star Dustin Lynch set to perform at Target Field on Friday, Aug. 15, following the game against the Tigers. Lynch has had 10 top-10 singles on the Billboard US Country chart in his career, and nine songs reach No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart. For ticket information, fans can visit twins.com/tickets, and for information on VIP ticket packages, please visit twins.com/DustinLynch. 

In a shift from Target Field’s usual DJ-driven entertainment, the Twins hosted local sibling band NUNNABOVE on Wednesday, and if I may editorialize, they were an absolute delight. They played both before the game and between innings, with originals and covers, and it was some of the most enjoyable in-game entertainment I’ve experienced this season. You can find a video featured from their website at this link, and I know I’ll be looking for a chance to catch them in concert.

Dinosaur Jr., “The Wagon” 

Guns N’ Roses, “Rocket Queen” 

Oasis, “Columbia” 

Garbage, “Vow” 

Frank Turner, “The Gathering” 

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