Mizutani: Byron Buxton is every bit deserving of this All-Star moment

As superstar center fielder Byron Buxton prepares for a homecoming this week with the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game taking place at Truist Park in Atlanta, it’s fitting that injury scare last week briefly threatened his ability to compete.

It’s no secret Buxton has battled a long list of injuries since being selected by the Twins with the No. overall 2 pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. It’s been the fatal flaw for a prized prospect that burst onto the scene seemingly without any to his name.

Though there were flashes of brilliance for Buxton, he was slowly but surely starting to look like a classic case of unrealized potential.

Not anymore.

After so many instances of his body betraying him, Buxton finally looks the player the Twins always knew he could be.

He’s been locked in at the plate with 21 home runs and 56 runs batted in. He’s added to that production by going a perfect 17 for 17 on stolen base attempts. He’s also provided otherworldly defense in center field a couple of seasons removed from not being healthy enough to play his natural position.

You can’t play baseball much better than Buxton has for the Twins as of late.

Which is why all of Minnesota held its collective breath last week when Buxton was pulled from the lineup after being hit by a pitch early in game against the Chicago Cubs.

Though the Twins immediately took the edge off by announcing Buxton had only suffered a left hand contusion, it was unclear if he would be ready to go for the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game.

Those doubts disappeared a few of days later when Buxton made a statement during a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. A few hours after his bobblehead was being given away in the lead up to first pitch, Buxton hit for the cycle for the first time in Target Field history.

His teammates doused him with water after the incredible performance in what almost felt like a washing away of all the bad luck that has plague him throughout his career.

It takes a special kind of person to persevere through everything Buxton has had to persevere through since making his major league debut more than a decade ago. The willpower required to get himself back to this level of play can’t be overstated.

It would’ve been easy for him to throw in the towel as the injuries started to pile up.

That’s simply not how he’s wired. All it did was add fuel to the fire. He continued to get his body ready for battle even when his body wouldn’t always cooperate.

The payoff will come this week for Buxton, and it couldn’t sweeter.

He gets to compete in the Home Run Derby and the All Star Game a few hours from his hometown of Baxley, Georgia, and he’ll get to share the experience it with his family, including his 11-year-old son Brixton, who couldn’t be more excited for the occasion.

It’s easy to feel good for Buxton given how hard he’s had to work to get to this point. He’s every bit deserving of this moment with Twins. Hopefully he’s been able to take a step back and enjoy it.