This story was excerpted from Matthew Leach's Twins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Following his sensational catch to end Tuesday night¡¯s win against the White Sox, Byron Buxton said he rated the play at the top of his personal highlight reel. Based on the critical moment in a needed win, combined with the difficulty and athleticism of the catch, Buxton said the play topped any other he¡¯d made in 11 seasons in Minnesota.
And it¡¯s certainly hard to argue, but with a resume like that, surely there are always going to be other opinions. So I decided to ask some other people around the Twins what they would rank No. 1. Here are their answers.
Spoiler alert: Buxton was not alone in his assessment.
Cory Provus, Twins TV play-by-play voice: Cleveland, May 14, 2017
¡°It was Mother¡¯s Day. Cleveland. We lost the game. Carlos Santana crushed one to right-center ... Buxton made an awesome catch up against the wall. His glasses came off, cap came off. It was such an unbelievable play. The impact of the wall, the catch and then the visual of his glasses and cap all falling off, that was my favorite.
¡°I think [Tuesday] was obviously incredible because it was a game-saving play, but to me, the visual of him in Cleveland, slamming against the wall, catching it, back on the ground, warning track in right-center, with the cap and the glasses all off, is No. 1 for me.¡±
Dustin Morse, Twins senior vice president, communications and public affairs: Cleveland 2017, or Toronto, Aug. 25, 2017 ... but only barely over Tuesday night
¡°Toronto, Players¡¯ Weekend. Up against the wall, just boom. That was one that stands out. There was the one in Cleveland, that¡¯s probably No. 1, and then Toronto.
¡°But No. 3 might have been [Tuesday]. Just because the team needed something. What I can tell you in my role is, there are postgame wins, and then there was [Tuesday¡¯s] win. Byron did the postgame interview, and everybody was up here waiting for Byron Buxton. And he came in -- I¡¯m getting goosebumps thinking about it -- he ran in, and everybody went nuts. And then he did a lap and gave everybody a high-five all the way around.¡±
Pitcher Pablo L¨®pez: Home vs. Pittsburgh, April 24, 2021
¡°Before I came to the Twins, I remember seeing this post that said, ¡®70 percent of Earth is covered by water. The rest is covered by Byron Buxton.¡¯ It was a play where he covered a ridiculous amount of ground. He covered a lot of ground, then he caught it, he slid, and he covered a lot of ground. He was coming in so fast and then he just went.¡±
Brace Hemmelgarn, Twins photographer: Home vs. Dodgers, April 8, 2024
¡°[Tuesday] was definitely one of the coolest just because it ended the game and it saved the game. Visually, I know I¡¯ve seen him do better from a picture perspective. But putting the game and the moment in perspective, that was probably one of the coolest things I¡¯ve seen him do on a baseball field.
¡°He had one last year where he was full-out horizontal. ¡ That was full extension, ball in glove.¡±
General manager Jeremy Zoll: Tuesday
Pitcher Chris Paddack: Tuesday
¡°I don¡¯t necessarily have a favorite catch for Buck, just because there are so many good ones that I¡¯ve been on the mound for or in the dugout, tipping my cap from the top rail. That one was pretty special, just because, just the way the game was going. We finally got a lead, we¡¯re holding the lead, division rival, we¡¯re at home. I felt like we needed that. It was just a spark, the moment itself. The guy that tracks down balls for a living with platinum on his glove, if he says that¡¯s his favorite, I¡¯m going to have to agree with him and say that was pretty special.¡± -- Paddack
Nick Beauchamp, director, baseball operations: Houston, Sept. 5, 2015