MINNEAPOLIS -- On Sunday, Byron Buxton will have reached a milestone -- one whose importance many fans may not understand: 10 years of Major League service time. It’s a sacred number to players. According to the MLB Players Association, fewer than 10 percent of players in history have reached the mark.
In Buxton’s case, it means 10 years as one of the game’s most spectacular players, as well as one of its most respected. So while we’ll talk to Buxton himself after he celebrates, I leaned on my teammates from MLB.com to get some comments from players around baseball as to what Buxton has meant to them and what they see in the Twins star.
Cubs center fielder and Buxton’s Team USA teammate, Pete Crow-Armstrong:
“Buck is such an interesting case, because I do feel like we’ve been robbed a little bit of enough of him, or at least the sample size that I think baseball deserves. He’s probably the, or one of the most gifted players I’ve ever seen.
“And then, even the little fun stuff for me as an outfielder, we were taking ground balls, and I’m watching him transfer the baseball and how he kind of shortens up his arm action on certain ones. Just little cool stuff, where I’m like, ‘Man.’ It’s a treat. It’s fun. It was so cool for me to kind of go tandem with him in center field. I never thought I’d be doing that, and here we are.
“I will always appreciate that guy, just because my style of play is so similar to him, where God willing, I stay on the field a lot and my body holds up, but we’re going to get it. Buck, most definitely, goes and gets it. It’s cool. It’s special stuff. He could probably be playing wide receiver.”
Braves center fielder Michael Harris II, a fellow Georgia native:
“I would always watch his highlights and kind of keep up with what he was doing. He's one of the fastest guys in the league, plays great defense, hits homers and steals bases. So, he’s pretty much always done it all. He’s a true five-tool player. I always wanted to be something like that.”
Astros infielder Carlos Correa, a longtime teammate of Buxton’s who went one pick ahead of him at the top of the 2012 Draft:
“He’s a great player, man. It’s a great deal, reaching 10 years. It means a lot to us players. We keep tabs on that. We always look forward to that day. He’s had a beautiful career. Started with a little bit of struggle at the beginning, and then he showed that he was able to make adjustments, and now he’s figured out a way to stay on the field as well. We had some great conversations about that and he’s put it into play, and it’s shown, man. When he’s on the field, he’s a top player in the game. To be able to reach 10 years at the level that he’s playing is unbelievable.”
Rays center fielder Cedric Mullins, also a Georgia native:
“He’s always been a very impressive player. Someone that came from a not so well known area, but always performed his tail off. So to see him have the success he’s had over the course of time has been awesome. I’ve gotten to know him over the course of the years, so getting to know him as a person has been fun.
“Standup dude. I’ve always had a ton of respect for him, and it’s only grown. To see him get 10 years, it’s crazy how time flies. I’m sure he feels like things were just getting rolling just yesterday.”
(A big thanks to Jordan Bastian, Mark Bowman and Brian McTaggart for contributing reporting for this story)