Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton runs the bases on his three-run home run against the Kansas City Royals in the third inning of a baseball game, Sunday, April 30, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)
The Brewers have a cheesehead that they don when they hit a home run. The Mariners have a shiny gold trident that their home-run hitters are greeted with upon their return to the dugout. The Angels have a samurai helmet, courtesy of star Shohei Ohtani.
And now, the Twins have their own celebration, one most befitting of a team from Minnesota.
As Byron Buxton reached the dugout after smashing a three-run home run, part of a seven-run third inning in the Twins’ 8-4 win over the Royals on Sunday afternoon, his teammates eagerly greeted him, new props in hand.
Infielder Kyle Farmer held up a fishing vest, which Buxton slipped on. On the front, the vest is decorated with Twins decals. On the back, it reads “Land of 10,000 Rakes.” As he made his way down the line toward the far end of the dugout, starting pitcher Pablo López reeled him in with a toy fishing rod. He then handed the rod to Buxton, who showed off the Twins’ new prop for the camera.
While the Twins only broke out their new home celebration one time on Sunday, they had plenty else to celebrate, capping their 10-game homestand by winning three of four against the Royals and finishing April with a 17-12 record.
During the seven-run inning on Sunday, all the runs were scored with two outs. Buxton’s home run, which traveled 453 feet to the third deck in left field, was followed by RBI hits from Nick Gordon, who an inning earlier placed a perfect bunt to bring home Buxton, Willi Castro and Christian Vázquez.
That was coupled with yet another solid start by Sonny Gray, who gave up one run in six innings pitched while striking out seven. Gray’s day actually raised his earned-run average from a league-leading 0.62 to a still miniscule 0.77 during a thoroughly dominant month of April. Gray struck out 41 batters in his 35 innings pitched, giving up just three earned runs in the month.
