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Two weeks have already passed in this young season and there are plenty of trends to keep an eye on, but it’s only the tip of the iceberg in a 162-game campaign. Sports Illustrated thinks Byron Buxton will make a run at the first offensive Triple Crown since Miguel Cabrera back in 2012. Buxton is up near the top of all three categories (batting average, home runs, and RBI) so let’s examine his chances in each category.
Batting Average
Buxton’s hot start has resulted in a .469 batting average, which ranked seventh in the AL entering play on Sunday. No player can continue to hit at that rate for an entire season. Ted Williams was the last player to post a batting average over .400 for an entire season and that was in 1941. There have been players that made a run at .400 include Minnesota’s Rod Carew. However, there may be some positive signs in Buxton’s numbers so far this year.
Buxton leads all of baseball in barrels per plate appearance (19.4%) and only two players have a higher average exit velocity. For his career, Buxton is a .244/.295/.445 hitter so his numbers this season are significantly higher than any other season in his career. If he can stay healthy, he might be able to post some eye-popping numbers. Batting average seems like it might be the hardest area of the Triple-Crown for him to win.
Home Runs
Buxton ranks second in the AL in home runs, and he’s missed multiple games with a hamstring issue and the team’s COVID problems. His career high in home runs came back in 2017 when he hit 16 homers in 140 games. He’s well on his way to setting a personal best, but he will probably need to triple his best to be in the conversation for most AL home runs.
In the last decade, the fewest amount of home runs to lead the AL was 40 from Nelson Cruz back in 2014. The last under 40 home run leader was in 2009 when Carlos Pena and Mark Teixeira tied with 39 longballs. Buxton has focused on adding strength in recent off-seasons and he might be seeing the fruits of his labor. Buxton had a 12 game stretch last season where he hit eight home runs in 12 games. Back in 2017, he hit 11 home runs in 34 games including a three-homer game in Toronto.
RBI
Out of the three categories, RBI is the one area that Buxton has little control over. He’s only had over 50 RBI once in his career and that was back in 2017. In previous seasons, he has typically been batting in the ninth spot in the batting order, which isn’t exactly a spot known for driving in a lot of runs.
His hot bat this season has seen him batting more regularly in the heart of the order. He has multiple games batting third or fourth in the line-up and the lowest he has batted is sixth. As a team, the Twins have struggled with runners in scoring position this season. Buxton has gone 2-for7 with RISP including a home run and a double. Other Twins players at the top of the line-up will need to get in position for Buxton to drive them in.
A healthy Buxton hitting at a torrid pace has a chance to make baseball history, but a Triple Crown takes a lot of things working in a batter’s favor. Buxton might be the early frontrunner for AL MVP, but a Triple Crown doesn’t seem likely.
Do you think Buxton has a shot at the Triple Crown? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.
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