u/Blevanhoval

“We continue to have productive discussions with Byron. I think he was very clear on that point last week. But also just from my seat, from the Twins’ perspective, that’s not something that we plan to explore. Just wanted to hit that head on.”

…

“We had good chats in Spring Training,” Zoll said. “I’ve been fortunate to have a relationship with Byron my entire tenure in the various roles that I’ve had. He’s having an unbelievable season. He’s a special player. He wants to be here. We want him to be here. I think to just get that out there makes a lot of sense, especially given a lot of speculation being thrown out there that’s not actually rooted in fact.”

Byron Buxton 3-time all-star gotta nice ring to it... just sayin'

Buxton's AL OF ranks this year (MIN 40 games):

HR - 1st
SLG - 2nd
OPS - 5th
wRC+ - 5th
Runs - 4th
wOBA - 5th
fWAR- 5th
bWAR - 7th
Hits - 8ths
RBI - 11th
Doubles - 12th
SB - 13th

Also vote 4 Ryan and Taj too

Was doing some digging for the Buxton Fact of the Day^(TM), and came across something I thought deserved its own post.

Buxton's 402 extra base hits ranks 12th all-time in Twins history.

He'll enter the top 10 with 18 more, as he'll pass Cuddyer (415) and Allison (419).

Among those in the top 12, Buxton's 49% extra base hits per hit percentage (X/H%) leads the pack — higher than Killebrew (46%), Allison (42%), Morneau (40%) and Hunter (39%).

In fact, Buxton is one of 9 players in BASEBALL HISTORY to have a X/H% of 49% or higher (MIN 900 games, equivalent to 5.5 full seasons).

He's accompanied by legends Bonds and McGwire, as well as perennial sluggers Schwarber, Dunn, Duvall and Gallo.

Russell Branyan (?) and Rhys Hoskins (??) round out the list.

It'll be hard to keep that percentage as he ages... but at this current moment in time, few players in baseball history have despised the humble single more than Byron Buxton.

“It can be really hard when you feel like your career is going in a different direction,” Lewis said. “It’s been tougher because obviously we know there’s always someone on your tail. There’s always someone ready to take your next job. Every day I’m here fighting and working as hard as I can to show that I’m giving it my all to keep my job because I love what I do. I’ve been smiling. I feel fine leaving the game. But I think what scares me most is like, ‘Oh, they might try to get me out of here.’ When I leave the field, that thought does creep into my head.”

-----

“It feels like people around here sometimes are waiting for me to struggle so that they can write me off officially or get me out of here,” Lewis said. “It’s the first time in my career where it’s become a business instead of playing the game that I love.”

oof.