Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton autographs a baseball for Brent Cardin, his sons James and Lucas, and his nephew Lake Lord during Mercer baseball’s annual First Pitch Classic Monday night. Photo by Jason Vorhees / The Melody

Mercer baseball hosted its annual First Pitch Classic event at Hawkins Arena in Macon on Monday. The fundraiser was headlined by Minnesota Twins outfielder and Georgia native Byron Buxton.

Buxton, who is originally from about two hours southeast of Macon in Baxley, Georgia, spoke about a variety of topics and fielded questions from the crowd as Mercer baseball players, fans, sponsors and families munched on dinner at tables laid out on the Bears’ basketball court.

Perhaps the funniest anecdote of the evening came when one guest asked Buxton, who has played for the Twins since he was called up in 2015, if he wanted to retire with Minnesota.

The Gold Glove and Silver Slugger award winner laughed.

“That’s a good question. I’m always trying to teach my kids about loyalty, that’s a big thing. My kids always say, ‘Dad, why don’t you sign with the Dodgers?’” Buxton quipped, referring to the Los Angeles club’s recent signing of outfielder Kyle Tucker to add another MVP-caliber player to their roster.

“I’m like, ‘Because I want to write my own story.’ … That’s one thing that’s important to me, is teaching my boys that the grass isn’t always greener,” he said.

Aside from the Dodgers joke — and a humorous account of his eating habits, which entailed a surprising amount of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches — Buxton mostly told sincere stories akin to that second message about teaching his kids loyalty.

Most folks in the crowd grinned when someone asked who Buxton idolized growing up. He answered quickly.

“Definitely Chipper Jones,” Buxton said, talking about how he looked up to the Atlanta Braves’ MVP-winning third baseman. “I grew up playing shortstop, and I thought I was gonna play shortstop for the Braves — play right next to Chipper, just like (former Braves shortstop) Rafael Furcal.”

Buxton’s younger imagination was off by a few years. Jones played his last season in the majors in 2012, the year Buxton was drafted No. 2 overall out of high school by the Twins.

“Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen,” the center fielder said.

While he might not be Atlanta’s shortstop, Buxton has certainly made a name for himself. As one of the best outfielders in the game, he also boasts a powerful swing that truly broke out in 2022, his first All-Star season. He hit a career-high 35 dingers last year despite only playing 126 games due to some time on the injured list.

That’s another aspect of his career that Buxton was quick to address — the slugger has become known as much for his injury history as he has for his skills on the field.

“I got to the big leagues and now I can’t stay healthy,” he said. “Two days into this year I’ll be at 10 years (in the majors). So 6 out of those 10 years I’ve probably been hurt. It takes a toll on your body to go through some of the injuries I’ve gone through. I’ve definitely wanted to give up, but I know my wife, my kids, my support system — I didn’t want to let them down.”

Even before he got injured, Buxton faced hardship. When he first got to pro ball as a prospect, he started his career in unceremonious fashion: 0-for-27 with 17 strikeouts.

The outfielder “thought he left his swing in Georgia” for a bit, but eventually rebounded with the help of an Australian minor league teammate named James Beresford.

“He wasn’t the best player, not the most talented guy in the world, but he brought that positive attitude and work ethic every single day. Every day he came to the ballpark he was smiling,” Buxton said of Beresford. “I would have my head down because I struck out three times that day. He could let that go. That was something I had to learn.”

That’s how Buxton transferred his high school athleticism — he helped Appling County High win a state championship on the diamond — to the professional level.

And that was his main takeaway for some of the young ballplayers in the audience, many of whom he signed autographs for prior to dinner: stay disciplined.