Buxton started playing baseball when he was six years old.[1] He attendedAppling County High School inBaxley, Georgia, where he played for the school'sbaseball,basketball andfootball teams. In his high school days, Buxton was given the nickname "Buck".[2] As a pitcher during his senior year, he had a 10–1win–loss record with a 1.90earned run average and 154strikeouts in 81innings pitched.[3] Buxton also threw a fastball that was recorded at 99 miles per hour (159 km/h).[4] His speed eventually led him to obtaining a well-above average speed rating of 70 as he left high school and readied for the draft.[5]
The Twins invited Buxton to participate inspring training in 2014.[25] He injured his left wrist, spraining hispisotriquetral joint, while diving for a ball and opened the 2014 season on thedisabled list.[26] He was activated on May 4, and assigned to Fort Myers.[27] After playing in five games with the Miracle, Buxton reinjured his wrist.[28] Buxton batted .240 in 30 games before receiving a promotion to theNew Britain Rock Cats of theClass AAEastern League on August 11.[29][30][31] In his first game with New Britain, on August 13, Buxton collided with fellow outfielder Mike Kvasnicka. Buxton was taken to the hospital and diagnosed with aconcussion.[29][32] The Twins shut Buxton down for the remainder of the regular season,[33] but assigned him to theArizona Fall League after the season.[34]
Despite his having missed the majority of the 2014 season, MLB.com andBaseball Prospectus rated Buxton as the best prospect in baseball at the start of the 2015 season, andBaseball America named him the # 2 prospect in 2015.[35][36][37] Buxton opened the 2015 season with the Twins' new Class AA affiliate, theChattanooga Lookouts of theSouthern League.[38] The Twins promoted Buxton to make his major-league debut on June 14.[39] He scored the game-winning run in his debut.[40] Buxton recorded his first hit, atriple, in his second game.[41] After playing in ten games, Buxton sprained his thumb and went on the disabled list.[42] The Twins activated Buxton from the disabled list on August 10 andoptioned him to theRochester Red Wings of theClass AAAInternational League, due to the strong play ofAaron Hicks.[43] In the major leagues, in 2015 while striking out 44 times in 129 at bats he hit .209/.250/.326 and stole two bases in four attempts.[44]
Byron Buxton during a game against the Washington Nationals 2016.
Buxton began the 2016 season as the Twins' starting center fielder. However, he batted .156 in 17 games, while striking out in 53% of hisat bats, and was optioned to Rochester on April 25.[45] He was called up again during mid season and remained at center field. He finished batting .225/.284/.430 with 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases in 12 attempts while striking out 118 times in 298 at bats.[44] According toStatcast, Buxton led MLB in average sprint speed at 30.8 feet per second, after tying withJarrod Dyson for the lead in the previous season.[46]
Buxton was once again the Twins opening day center fielder to begin the2017 season. He was batting just .219 at the start of August.[47] On August 18, he was safe at home on the fastestinside-the-park home run ever recorded by Statcast, circling the bases in 13.85 seconds.[48] On August 27, Buxton hit three home runs against theToronto Blue Jays.[49] He hit .324 in August with eight home runs and eight stolen bases.[50] For the season, he batted .253/.314/.413 with 29 stolen bases in 30 attempts, while striking out 150 times in 462 at bats.[44] He won aWilson Defensive Player of the Year Award for all major league fielders, as well as for center field, given to the top defensive player in the major leagues at each position.[51] He also won aFielding Bible Award,[52] aRawlings Gold Glove Award,[53] and thePlatinum Glove Award for the American League.[54] He again led MLB in sprint speed, at 30.5 feet per second.[55]
Buxton's 2018 season got off to a sloppy start, as he spent some stints on the disabled list due to a toe injury andmigraines. On July 2, he was activated from the disabled list, but also optioned to Triple-A Rochester.[56] In the majors, he batted .156/.183/.200 while striking out 28 times in 90 at bats, and stole five bases without being caught.[44] The Twins opted not to promote Buxton to the major leagues duringSeptember call-ups, a decision that Buxton said, "didn't go over well."[57] He yet again led MLB in sprint speed, again at 30.5 feet per second.[58]
On April 22, 2019, Buxton's streak of 33 stolen bases was ended after he was caught stealing byRobinson Chirinos of theHouston Astros. In 2019, Buxton batted .262 and had the fastest sprint speed of all American League players, at 30.3 feet/second.[59]
Buxton in St.Louis, 2025.
In the abbreviated2020 Major League Baseball season, Buxton played 39 of Minnesota's 60 games, primarily missing time due to a shoulder injury sustained in late August.[60] Buxton batted .254 with a .267 on base percentage and a career-high .577slugging percentage in 39 games.[61]
On December 1, 2021, Buxton signed a seven-year, $100 million contract extension with the Twins.[63]
WhenCarlos Correa joined the Twins for the2022 season, he and Buxton became the third pair of players picked first and second in the same draft to then play for one club.[64] On June 9, 2022, the trio ofLuis Arráez, Buxton, and Correa each hit consecutive home runs offGerrit Cole to open the bottom of the first inning versus theNew York Yankees. Buxton then hit a three-run home run in the second inning.[65] In June 2022, Buxton hit his 44th home run since he had last grounded into a double play, which occurred on September 7, 2020, surpassing a record of 43 held byMatt Carpenter.[66] On July 5, 2022, Buxton started the first 8–5triple play in major league history when he caught anA. J. Pollock fly ball at the wall in the bottom of the seventh inning versus theChicago White Sox . Buxton threw to third basemanGio Urshela, who tagged a retreatingYoán Moncada out at second base and stepped on the bag to retireAdam Engel.[67] In 2022 he slashed .224/.306/.526 in 92 games, 35 of them at DH.[61]
During the 2023 spring training, Buxton was moved to being the Twins' primary DH to keep him in the lineup for the full season.[68] In 2023, he slashed .207/.294/.438 in 85 games, without playing any games in the field.[61]
In 2024, he was moved back to center field. In 2024, he slashed .279/.335/.524 in 105 games.[61]
On May 1, 2025, Buxton stole his 100th career stolen base against theCleveland Guardians. With that stolen base, he became the eighth player in Minnesota Twins history to reach that milestone. More notably, he became the third player since the franchise moved to the Twin Cities to reach both 100 steals and 100 homers, joiningKirby Puckett andTorii Hunter.[69] On June 19, 2025, Buxton hit two home runs in 12-5 victory against theCincinnati Reds. His first-inning long ball was the 12th leadoff homer of his career, tied for the fifth most in Twins history.[70]
On July 12, 2025, Buxtonhit for the cycle in a 12–4 victory against thePittsburgh Pirates on his bobblehead day. He became the 350th player to hit for the cycle in major-league history, the 12th player in Twins history (since 1961) to hit for the cycle, and the first player to do so atTarget Field, which opened in 2010. The last Twin to hit for the cycle wasJorge Polanco on April 5, 2019, against thePhiladelphia Phillies. The last Minnesota player to accomplish the feat at home wasMichael Cuddyer, on May 22, 2009, at theMetrodome.[71][72] On August 29, Buxton stole a base which gave him his first 20/20 season.[73]
Buxton is fromBaxley, Georgia, where he spent his adolescent years through high school.[8] His father, Felton, owns a trucking company, and his mother, Carrie, works in a schoolcafeteria.[13] Byron is one of their three children, one of whom, daughter Keva, is ten years Byron's junior.[74][8] Buxton's cousin,Dexter Carter, is a formerNFLrunning back.[13]
Buxton began dating Lindsey Tillery in 2012.[74] She also attended Appling County High School, where she played softball, and was three years ahead of Buxton.[8] They married in 2016, and have three sons together: Their oldest was born in 2013,[74] their second in 2020,[75] and third in 2023.[76]
Buxton co-owns an Ellianos Coffee franchise in Baxley, Georgia, alongside his family. Introduced to the brand in 2019, Buxton saw an opportunity to open a store during the COVID-19 pandemic. Passionate about coffee, he arranges for Ellianos to be shipped to Minnesota and is hands-on in the business, even assisting behind the scenes. The family is expanding with plans to open a second location in Jesup, Georgia. Buxton views the venture as a way to secure his family’s future and create a lasting legacy beyond baseball.[77]
