If you haven't been following MLB All-Star weekend, you might not know that Byron Buxton is from the state of Georgia. If you have been following MLB All-Star weekend, you definitely know that Byron Buxton is from the state of Georgia — from Baxley, about three and a half hours from Atlanta, to be exact.
But even as the All-Star and Home Run Derby contestant plays in front of the Braves faithful at All-Star, he hasn't minced words about his future. "I'm a Minnesota Twin for life," Buxton said to Phil Miller of the Minnesota Star Tribune, also saying that, "...I don’t want to play anywhere else. The team, the people, the city — they made me who I am and made me a part of it there," referring to Minnesota, the place he's spent his entire 11-year MLB career.
That's pretty definitive, and although it won't stop Braves fans from dreaming about a lineup with Byron Buxton and Ronald Acuña Jr. at the top... it ends any possibility of it actually happening. Pain.
Buxton to the Braves seems like a dream that will remain a dream
All fans like to dream of a star player who's from the area coming home and playing for the local team; trust me, as a Mariners fan, I add "future Mariner" anytime someone says the name "Corbin Carroll." So it's totally fair that Braves fans have dreamed about Buxton blasting bombs at Truist Park in the future.
Buxton deserves serious props for being drafted by a team, developing with a team and then becoming the star of that team. He's built a family in Minneapolis and he's a Twins legend for life as his love for the city is reciprocated and then some by the city.
In 2025, he's also become the superstar that he's always had the talent to be. Those kinds of players (and people) are pretty rare in sports, so it makes sense that Minnesota never wants to part with him and that he never wants to leave Minnesota. It's just a bummer for Braves fans. I guess settling for just Ronald Acuña Jr. as a homegrown star will have to suffice.