Buxton, Arraez tabbed as 1st-time All-Stars

ARLINGTON -- Great things come in pairs: twins, peanut butter and jelly, and All-Stars. And this year, the Twins have a pair of All-Stars headed to Los Angeles.

Outfielder Byron Buxton and first baseman Luis Arraez were named as reserves for the American League squad in the Midsummer Classic to be played on July 19 at Dodger Stadium.

• MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: July 19 on FOX

"[Buxton] and [Arraez] give everything that they have to this organization, everything that they have every single day when they step in the door," manager Rocco Baldelli said. "There's nothing left when they leave at the end of the day, and they continually, they bring it, all the time. Because of that, it just makes me so happy to be able to hand them a bottle of champagne and acknowledge them in front of their teammates."

It was a big day for the first-time All-Stars. They received the news in a team meeting prior to Minnesota’s series finale against the Rangers on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Field.

Buxton was happy, of course. Texas has a special place in his heart, because it’s where he made his Major League debut in 2015. It’s also where he came off the IL in June 2021 and now where he learned he was All-Star.

“A lot of good things have happened just being here [in Texas],” said Buxton, who belted his career-best 23rd homer in the first inning of the Twins' 6-5 win.

• 2022 All-Star Game rosters

Buxton’s selection comes just days after the outfielder made a highlight-worthy catch at the left-center-field wall in Friday’s series opener that left both the Twins and Rangers in disbelief. He got a little banged up that game between the catch, a dive into third base and being hit by a pitch along with his already ongoing right knee issues.

Still, Buxton has powered through. He leads Minnesota with 23 home runs (though he doubts he’ll participate in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby) and he has been a big bat for the team along with Arraez.

“It's been a battle. Just day in and day out, you come in and feel good, and sometimes you don't,” Buxton said. “But the mental side of the game is what keeps me going.”

Arraez said he almost cried when he heard Baldelli call his name. He was shy to share how great of a season he’s having -- he leads the Majors in batting average and on-base percentage -- and Arraez was wide-eyed as he stared at the white folder in his hand that was embossed with the All-Star Game logo.

Even though Arraez knows he’s one of the best hitters in the game right now, he didn’t believe he was guaranteed a spot on the roster. So when Baldelli called a team meeting, he was nervous and his heart started beating faster and faster.

"He's a baseball player in every way," Baldelli said. "He's out there, not for anything personal. But I'll tell you this: he's proud of being named an All-Star. And he should be named an All-Star. It was a no-brainer, if you ask me, with everything that we've seen.

"How can you be on base? How can you have better at-bats? How can you be on base more than him? How can you contribute more to a team winning than him? ... I think he's going to carry this through the whole year and we're going to see one of the better, more interesting offensive seasons that we've seen in a while."

Being a Major League All-Star is something Arraez set out to accomplish when he was in the Minors, and it finally happened.

The Twins haven’t sent multiple players to the All-Star Game since 2019, when José Berríos, Jake Odorizzi and Jorge Polanco made the cut. The first-timers will now get a chance to play alongside AL stars like Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani.

“It's a lot of guys in the league that you look around and say they're great guys. [The] All-Star Game is about the only chance you have at playing with them,” Buxton said. “It's kind of one of those moments for me that fiction comes to reality.”