"Those two guys were definitely in my corner" - Twins' Byron Buxton lists down Torii Hunter and Joe Mauer's influence on his career

Minnesota Twins won the first game 7-0 against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, but Byron Buxton wasn’t part of their victory team. The 30-year-old center fielder had a day off, and Austin Martin filled his position.

Sportskeeda executive Dan Connolly sat down with Buxton and revisited his early days in Minnesota camp. He shared how two former Twins legends helped the rookie Buxton understand the “Twins Way”.

“I was blessed enough to play with Torii Hunter in his last year (2015). And then I got the chance to play with Joe (Mauer) for a few more years after that, and those are obviously big pieces of Twins history,” Buxton told Sportskeeda.

“And for me, it was just trying to pick their brains as much as I could to realize what was the ‘Twins Way.’ I was young and still learning how to go about becoming a big-league player. So those two guys were definitely in my corner at all times.”

Joe Mauer became the first-ballot Hall of Famer this year and became the seventh Twins player to be inducted into Cooperstown.

Meanwhile, Torii Hunter was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in 2016. This year was his fourth-year attempt at getting an invitation to Cooperstown, but he came short with only 7.3% votes.

It’s no wonder that Buxton shaped into a fine player under their guidance. He received an All-Star invitation and Gold Glove in the past but is struggling to keep up this year. In 20 appearances, Buxton has nine RBIs and a home run with a stat line of .217/.247/.333.

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Byron Buxton stepped up for a young fan

On Tuesday, in the last game between the Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles, Camden, an eight-year-old young fan, got his ball signed by his favorite player Byron Buxton. However, before the ball reached him, someone took it from him.

As the news spread, the Twns’ All-Star stepped up to make things right for the boy.

“Hope to see you today or meet you at some point! We will make it right! I gotcha,” Buxton replied to a fan’s tweet.

The next day, the young Camden received not only a signed ball but also a batting glove and a bat from his role model, making the moment even more special for him.

The Twins have won only eight of 21 games. Their only series win was against the Kansas City Royals on the Opening weekend. They are trailing division toppers Cleveland Guardians (16-6).

The Twins have the third-worst record in the AL. The only teams that are behind them are the Houston Astros (7-16) and the Chicago White Sox (3-19).