With game 162 closing the book on the 2025 Twins, Byron Buxton sat on the bench as a spectator. James Outman netting the start in center essentially ended Buxton’s year; even a stray pinch-hit appearance would have done little to aid or mitigate a tremendous year for the 31-year-old. He completed his evolution from light-hitting defensive wizard to frightening slugger, pounding 35 homers with a .264/.327/.551 line across a career-high 542 plate appearances. A healthy Buxton season, once a scoffed-at notion, is now a documented phenomenon. In completing this excellent season, Buxton has continued a ritual that dates back before he was born.

Since the time the Trinity College product first donned a Twins uniform, something seemed special about Kirby Puckett. His infectious personality, Hollywood smile—oh, and incredible baseball abilities—placed him on a quick path to superstardom. His All-Star 1986 season kicked off 10 consecutive placements on the roster for the Midsummer Classic. He finished top-10 in the MVP vote 10 times. He won two World Series. His catch and subsequent walk-off homer in game 6 of the 1991 World Series are memories burned deep in every Twins fan’s psyche. (Did you really need this author to remind you how good Kirby Puckett was?)

As Puckett’s career wound down, an 18-year-old named Torii Hunter started his rise through the Twins system. Though he could have given him the Jack Morris treatment, the affable Puckett took Hunter under his wing—even calling the youngster for pep talks when he noticed Hunter was in a slump. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hunter then became an awesome player for the Twins. He, like Puckett, shed early-career issues with hitting to turn in remarkably consistent play. Between 2001 and 2007, only Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones, Jim Edmonds, and Mike Cameron were more valuable center fielders, by fWAR. That sweet right-handed stroke and his athletic glides in the field made him a nightly highlight reel. He also became one of the few men to deny Barry Bonds a homer. 

Lest you think Hunter wasn’t going to pay it forward, our own Cody Christie relayed how the elder Hunter reacted when his next in line, Denard Span, earned his call to the majors.

“He texted me right back,” Span said. “And then, right after he texted me, he called me. … He said: ‘I’m happy for you. Just go out there, have fun and learn.’ I said, ‘I’m sorry for waking you up.’ He said, ‘No, this is the best news I’ve heard in a while.’ ”

Though Span was “merely” very good, topping out with a 4.1 fWAR season in 2009, he, too, buoyed what has become a rare stretch of play for one position. Minnesota claims the 5th-most fWAR by primary center fielders between 1984 (Puckett’s rookie campaign) and 2012, the end of Span’s tenure as a Twin. Of the teams ahead of the Twins, most are inflated by one outlier player; the Cardinals are the only other franchise to claim at least four center fielders with double-digit fWAR. (Shane Mack is the fourth Twin, for those looking to keep track at home.)

The move from Span to Buxton wasn’t as clean as the baton-passing that came before it. Two (nearly three) years of Aaron Hicks and Danny Santana bridged us to what quickly became yet another hyped debut, with Buxton gracing the 2015 Twins.

A passable 2016 gave way to the real start of the Buxton era, in 2017. That year, he played 140 games of some of the most elegant center field defense of the 21st century, earning him the Platinum Glove as he led the team to a surprise playoff appearance. The next seven years became a wasteland of hope, disappointment, and injuries. Brilliant play would arrive and then vanish—vanquished suddenly by a nagging ailment or freak occurrence. He would turn superhuman in 2021… for 61 games. An acceptable outcome in basketball, perhaps, but not in baseball. In 2022, it was much of the same. In 2023, he was wasted as a DH. Last year gave us a glimmer of healthy hope in 102 available games.

Now, finally, after 2025, Buxton has shed the questions that have dogged him his entire Twins career—and finds himself in the company and conversation of Twins greats at the position. A one-season wonder? Not anymore. In Hunter’s shadow? The still-active Buxton actually surpassed Hunter’s Twins career fWAR total earlier this year, in 2,000 fewer plate appearances.

Since moving to Minnesota in 1961, only the Yankees, Astros, Cardinals, and Giants have accumulated more fWAR from primary center fielders than the Twins. Across almost all times, regardless of team quality, fans could look into the heart of the outfield and take comfort in the fact that the man patrolling the grass was of unusual acumen. It’s a tradition only accelerated in recent years, as Puckett begat Hunter, who begat Span, who then begat Buxton. Though it took some time, Buxton hasn’t just continued the legacy of center-field play—he’s elevated it.