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Buxton injured today in the AFL

Seth Stohs

By Seth Stohs
in Twins Minor League Talk

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Seth Stohs GOAT

Seth Stohs

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Posted
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He has been hitting better of late. Today, Byron Buxton went 1-4 before diving to make a play in the outfield. He came out of the game with an injury. Fortunately, initial reports indicate that he dislocated his middle finger. Obviously that isn't ideal, and if you've experienced a dislocation, it is quite painful. But, if accurate, it isn't something that would affect him for too long. 

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benji21 College Ball

benji21

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Wonderful.  Anything having to do with the hands or wrist probably will be bothersome for a while.  I wonder if, as CRArko did, if it might be prudent for him to wear braces on his wrists.  I know that if a couple of clunky braces stood between me and superduper stardom, I'd be wearing them yesterday.  Some athletes get labled "soft" or "fragile" for getting multiple injuries.  Sometimes unjustly when said injuries are traumatic in nature, but this may be the case for Buxton.  Multiple wrist and hand injuries would lead me to believe that either his style of play, body type, or a combination of the two will lead him to an injury-plagued career unless he changes something.  Or he might recover and not miss another game for five years.  Whatever the case may be, I think it would be prudent for the Twins and Buxton to look into SOMETHING with this guy.  It's not like he's the future or anything.

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TRex Draft Eligible

TRex

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He has to learn that he’s not Superman!!! Playing hard is one thing, playing stupid is another, diving for every ball is stupid.  His 'HOF career' is going to be awfully disappointing if he can't stay off the injury list.

Not sure whether you are speaking 'tongue in cheek' (or whether you can be placated at all), but you do realize that this would have been a game-winning catch, right? There were two out in the top of the ninth, with a runner on third. Buxton got his glove on the ball, so it was definitely 'catchable'. How in the world are you going to train a professional athlete to think a game-winning catch is stupid?

 

OBTW, did you watch the video... the way he looks at his left hand after he starts to get up suggests his finger was pointing in the wrong direction!

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Blackjack Draft Eligible

Blackjack

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Not sure whether you are speaking 'tongue in cheek' (or whether you can be placated at all), but you do realize that this would have been a game-winning catch, right? There were two out in the top of the ninth, with a runner on third. Buxton got his glove on the ball, so it was definitely 'catchable'. How in the world are you going to train a professional athlete to think a game-winning catch is stupid?

 

OBTW, did you watch the video... the way he looks at his left hand after he starts to get up suggests his finger was pointing in the wrong direction!

 

No I didn’t realize it was a ‘game saving’ catch but that doesn’t matter, the point is that if he’s not on the field playing on a regular basis he’s no good to his team.  Would the Twins be better off with him making a game saving catch in May, injuring himself, and being out six weeks or would they be better off with him in the lineup every day, helping them win games for those six weeks he’s out?  Save the Superman plays for games that really matter, games in the playoffs or World Series. This was a minor league game in showcase league, he’d be better off playing more games for them.

  

I know it’s a fine line between developing a competitive athlete and a lackadaisical athlete (can you say Aaron Hicks) but he needs to play smarter.  Running into walls, diving for every ball, and colliding with other players is not going to help him or the Twins.

 

As an aging sportswriter for the Strib likes to say “the same players are always hurt”.  Buxton is certainly starting to look like that.

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jokin Wichita Wind Surge

jokin

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2.) I think it's silly to encourage Buxton to not play as hard as he can.

 

He went to make a diving catch. He's an outfielder. That's what he should do. 

 

Discretion has often proven to be the better part of valor in the past.  Though there is obviously a dose of bad luck, Buxton's range of injuries- and HOW some of them happened this season- should be a cause for concern going forward.  It would be a shame if he ends up with half of a HOF career, like Tony Oliva.  As of now, based on this season, anyway, he is on the career path of Troy Tulowitzki, both are/will be likely to be perceived as the best in baseball at their position- as well as perennial MVP candidates.  But both, might be stigmatized by the perception that they can't stay healthy enough to stay on the field for a full season- and end up never realizing true greatness.

 

Clearly, more than enough of the injuries Buck has sustained this year are due to his admirable, but ultimately reckless, style of play.  I think the evidence is apparent that there is going to be a need for an "attitude adjustment" (at the tender age of 20 and possessed with all of his talents, he's in the prime of his "immortal" stage) or he risks jeopardizing his incredible potential.

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jokin Wichita Wind Surge

jokin

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At what point does this stuff move from coincedence to pattern?

 

I'd still say this falls under the former, but I'm curious how many more injuries he can get before people start calling it a trend.

 

 

At this point, I think it's more than fair to say:  "The Trend is not his friend."

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Craig Arko Wichita Wind Surge

Craig Arko

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At what point does this stuff move from coincedence to pattern?

 

I'd still say this falls under the former, but I'm curious how many more injuries he can get before people start calling it a trend.

The brain is hard-wired to find patterns, even when they don't exist. E.g., the face on Mars. I think we're a long way from statistical significance.

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jokin Wichita Wind Surge

jokin

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The brain is hard-wired to find patterns, even when they don't exist. E.g., the face on Mars. I think we're a long way from statistical significance.

 

Not sure how to statistically quantify what's happened to Buck this year.  But what we do know he is, he's close to the fastest baseball player on the planet, and the combination of his speed, strength and reckless abandon can be quantified in terms of force, velocity and utter disregard for his own safety meeting animate and inanimate resistance. 

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ashbury Cooperstown

ashbury

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can be quantified in terms of force, velocity and utter disregard for his own safety

Looking forward to your article next year in the SABR Baseball Research Journal, particularly the UDS quotient or similar metric as input. :)

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Blackjack Draft Eligible

Blackjack

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1.) Aaron Hicks isn't lackadaisical, but 

 

 

Maybe 'not motivated' would be a better choice of words. There are many examples of athletes with all the physical tools in the world that don't succeed yet other athletes with fewer tools are stars - why? Motivation.

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gunnarthor All-Star

gunnarthor

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I don't think Buxton is injury prone. If I remember correctly, he hurt his wrist when he was hit by a pitch - that's not really his fault and I think minor league pitchers might be a bit hyped to face him and lose a little control.  Anyhow, as long as he doesn't get a concussion from a HBP, I won't worry too much.  He re injured the same wrist sliding into a base but maybe the wrist was still tender?  

 

The OF collision wasn't his fault, the LFer shouldn't have crushed him.  And this injury was just sorta freaky and shouldn't affect him long term.  He needs more rest but he'll be fine. 

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lightfoot789 Draft Eligible

lightfoot789

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Buxton lasted an entire season in Elizabethton and 1/2 a season in Cedar Rapids before getting promoted to High A.  The common denominator was -  Who he played next to in the outfield (Adam Brett Walker - RF) when playing healthy.  Better take him with you to each level as your good luck charm Byron.  JUST KIDDING - Trying to get my guy a promotion one way or another (ha ha).  Chattanooga is going to be special next year.  It will be a split of the great team in Ft. Myers of 2013 and the great team in Cedar Rapids in 2013.   I hope they stay together for at least 2 months.  Byron will be fine in terms of injuries.  All great players who play at his speed and intensity are prone to injuries.  Let Byron be Byron and the Future will remain bright.

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