Twins' top plays of 2010s (aka the Buxton show)

MINNEAPOLIS -- Frankly, this could very well just have been a Byron Buxton highlight reel.

Buxton's speed, fearlessness and cannon arm in center field have been responsible for no shortage of spectacular diving, leaping and running grabs in center field since his debut in 2015 -- many of which found their way onto this list of the Twins' top 10 defensive plays of the decade. But the 2017 American League Platinum Glove Award winner is far from the only one featured in this anthology of exemplary defense.

Let's continue our review of the past decade of Twins baseball by highlighting the best defensive plays of the 2010s:

1) Revere's magical catch at the wall
Date: Aug. 22, 2011

Before there was Buxton, there was Ben Revere. The diminutive center fielder wasn't blessed with Buxton's raw physical talent, but he still boasted fantastic speed and all-out play in the outfield that often combined for highlight-reel results throughout his career.

One of his finest plays came in 2011, when Vladimir Guerrero clubbed a pitch to Target Field's center-field wall. Revere ran all the way to the warning track with his back to home plate, and he never turned around as he made the leaping catch. He was looking away from home plate as he caught up to the ball at the wall, jumped and made an over-the-shoulder catch as he smashed into the padding.

2) Mauer reaches behind the net
Date: June 10, 2010

There isn't much foul territory behind home plate at Target Field, but Joe Mauer didn't let the stadium boundaries stop him from making a play. With the Royals in town, Mitch Maier lifted a high popup behind home, and Mauer tracked the ball to the short limestone backstop, where it appeared that the edge of the protective netting would prevent him from snagging the ball. Instead, Mauer's left arm shot out and reached around the side as he lunged and made a snow-cone grab as the ball came down behind the netting.

3) Buxton's fearless Mother's Day snag
Date: May 14, 2017

Buxton has never shied away from putting his body on the line for the sake of a catch. In a career full of daredevil grabs, this might have been the craziest of them all as one of the top plays on his Platinum Glove Award highlight reel. Carlos Santana of the Indians lifted a fly ball to right-center at Progressive Field, where Buxton leapt at the warning track and actually went horizontal as the ball fell into his glove and he hit the wall. Buxton's sunglasses and cap went flying off his head as he lay on the ground for several moments before Max Kepler helped him to his feet.

4) Hicks shows off cannon at Yankee Stadium
Date: July 12, 2013

Thanks to the rapid proliferation of Statcast data, the numbers behind Aaron Hicks' incredible throwing arm have been well-documented over the years. This play came before such data became available, but numbers aren't necessary for its proper admiration. Vernon Wells lined a double to right-center at Yankee Stadium and chugged for third base as Hicks was unable to cut the ball off before it bounced off the wall. Hicks chased the carom a few steps in from the warning track and fired a high, arcing throw that reached third baseman Trevor Plouffe on the fly, just ahead of a sliding Wells.

5) Buxton drifts, adjusts and dives
Date: Aug. 11, 2017

Even when Buxton doesn't get the best read on a ball, his physical tools often allow him to make the play regardless. This play might have looked a little more routine with a more direct route, but it's tough to argue with the results. Miguel Cabrera launched a sharp line drive deep to the cavernous center-field expanse of Comerica Park, where Buxton initially drifted straight back before making a late course correction towards the right-center gap. At the last second, Buxton lunged to his left and snagged the ball on a full-extension dive.

6) Twins go around the horn for triple play
Date: July 22, 2019

Even setting aside the rematch in the American League Division Series three months later, Twins fans won't soon forget this crazy series at Target Field against the Yankees, when the first half-inning foreshadowed the insanity to come. Minnesota starter Martín Pérez walked both DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Judge to begin the game, bringing slugger Edwin Encarnación to the plate. Instead of posting a crooked number, Encarnación chopped a grounder to third base, where Luis Arraez stepped on the bag for the first out before Jonathan Schoop made the turn at second and fired to first to complete the triple play and send the crowd into a frenzy.

7) Wait, again?
Date: Aug. 7, 2019

So nice, they did it twice. Barely two weeks later, Pérez once again found himself in a jam, facing a bases-loaded situation with no outs and the Twins already trailing, 6-0. This time, it was Tyler Flowers of the Braves who hit a grounder to third, where Sanó stepped on the bag before Schoop and first baseman C.J. Cron completed another triple play. The feat made the Twins the first team to turn multiple triple plays in a season since the 2017 Orioles. Perhaps such plays just come in pairs for the Twins, who also turned two triple plays in a single game in 1990.

8) Rosario's walk-off outfield assist
Date: Sept. 5, 2019

Just don't run on Eddie Rosario. The left fielder's once-prolific assist numbers have gone down slightly since he tied for second in assists as a rookie in 2015, but his cannon arm is still more than capable of impacting games. One of his biggest moments came at Fenway Park in 2019, when J.D. Martinez drilled what looked to be a game-tying hit off the Green Monster. Instead, Rosario smoothly played the carom off the wall and made a perfect one-hop throw home to Jason Castro, who put the tag on Rafael Devers to end the game, completing a 2-1 victory and a series win.

9) Buxton robs Kipnis with diving grab
Date: Sept. 26, 2017

How about a good, old-fashioned diving grab? There's no shortage of great ones to pick from in Buxton's highlight reel, but this one held particular significance because it came against a division rival, late in a close game, with the Twins closing in on their first playoff berth in seven years. With the Twins holding a 7-6 lead in the eighth inning, Jason Kipnis sliced a fly ball into left-center that Buxton snared just inches off the ground, drawing a visible, "Oh, my God" from pitcher Trevor Hildenberger. The Twins won the game and clinched the second AL Wild Card spot one day later.

10) Buxton flashes 99 mph to cut down Trout
Date: June 15, 2016

We already have Buxton at the wall, Buxton making a course correction and Buxton on an all-out dive. Let's close things out by showing off his arm. Buxton, a former high school pitcher, came up firing on Albert Pujols' soft RBI single up the middle and registered 99.4 mph, per Statcast, on a 240-foot throw that reached catcher Juan Centeno on one hop. Centeno put the tag on Mike Trout for a narrow out at home plate.

Honorable mention: Mauer's no-look, behind-the-back snag
Date: June 11, 2013

No, the ball wasn't in play, but come on. This needed to make it onto the list somewhere.

Honorable mention, again: Turtles don't need to look
Date: March 12, 2018

This one, too.