Byron Buxton Fangraphs Interview

[Boone]

Pretty interesting interview with Buxton from fangraphs. Here's the link: Interviewing Byron Buxton: A Tediously Thorough Account | FanGraphs Baseball

 

Pretty much everything worth reading is posted below:

 

Byron Buxton on How Pitchers Are Adjusting to Him

“At the beginning of the season, I saw a lot of fastballs, fastballs in, and I was hitting them hard. Now, some pitchers are pitching me backwards, and I’m hitting the ball the other way pretty good.

“Usually, after my first at-bat, I see a curveball or changeup first pitch. If I see it real well, I’ll take a hack at it. If I miss it, [i'll] step out and get ready to go again. Most of the time, I usually take the pitch.”

Buxton on His Favorite Pitch to Hit

“Middle. Middle-away. Fastball or hanging curveball.”

Buxton on Adjusting to Advanced Breaking Balls

“In the past I had trouble [with them]. Like, Gulf Coast League and Rookie Ball. It was hard for me to adjust to breaking pitches coming out of high school. But during spring training I saw breaking pitch after breaking pitch, and I sat back and drove the ball. So far, I’ve still got the same approach, hitting the ball the opposite way — and, if they come in, I just turn on it.”

Byron Buxton on His Swing Plane, Which Is Generally Considered Flat

“I’m just trying to keep a level swing, drive the ball in the gaps. Just trying to get on, get base hits. [M]y teammates can drive me in.”

Buxton on Scoring from Second in High School on a Sac Fly

“All I remember was, I knew it was hit to the right fielder, and I was tagging up. He caught the ball, and I took off towards third. When I looked up, my third-base coach was still telling me to come, and I just kept going.”

The author: “Had you seen that before?”

Buxton: “No.”

[nicksaviking]

I just read this. Not a ton of information but it's Buxton related. Good stuff. I did like to read about his approach at the plate and his view of what pitchers are doing to him. Surely some of his knowledge comes from discussions from his coaches but it's good to hear he clearly understands both his stratagy at the plate and the stratagy of the pitcher facing him. Sometimes it seems like a simple concept but I don't know that all young guys grasp some of the minutia.