Somewhere in a landfill, there’s a contaminant smoldering. The green glow looks like something that J. Robert Oppenheimer wouldn’t touch. The sight of it would give people nightmares.
You may think I’m talking about something in Area 51. But this isn’t an alien conspiracy. This is the rally sausage that the Minnesota Twins used to propel themselves to relevance a year ago.
It’s funny to look back on now, especially as Rocco Baldelli worried that the Twins were carrying around a threat to homeland security.
Still, a year later, the Twins are looking for their rally sausage, and the new version might be Byron Buxton.
You have to understand it’s not about the sausage. It’s what the sausage represents. The Twins were 7-13 and embarking on a seven-game road trip. Their offense looked like they left their bats in Fort Myers, and the vibes were starting to make it look like a long summer was ahead of them.
The rally sausage began when Kyle Farmer decided to clean out his fridge. When Ryan Jeffers spotted it in the clubhouse, it was like Peter Parker running into a radioactive spider. Average hitters turned into Barry Bonds. It became a rallying object like Pedro Serrano’s “Jobu” doll in Major League.
“It’s the idea of the sausage,” Jeffers told MLB.com last May. “It’s the meaning behind the sausage. We’re going to learn more about the sausage as the days go by.”
That may seem dumb to anyone outside the clubhouse, but it works for major leaguers. The introduction of the torpedo bat on opening weekend sparked a craze across major league baseball, and several hitters placed an order to Louisville Slugger to worship their new wooden god. The point is that major leaguers have to play 162 games, and the process can become mundane, especially considering what the Twins have gone through the past eight months.
On August 17 of last year, the Twins were 70-53 on the verge of a Wild Card spot. They finished the season with a 12-27 record and followed it up with a 7-15 start entering this week’s series with the Chicago White Sox. Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic noted that the 19-42 total record is a 50-win pace over a full season, and fans and players may be weighed down by what’s happening on and off the field.
Just like they did at this time a year ago, they need something to bring them out of their funk. Christian Vázquez ordered a giant Spartan helmet on Amazon. Luke Keaschall has tried his best by stealing five bases in his first major league games. Even back-to-back wins over the White Sox feel like a start.
But you know what would really get everyone going?
A healthy, superstar version of Byron Buxton.
You may laugh at this premise, considering Buxton’s history. He has become Minnesota’s version of the Red Ryder BB gun. He’s fun when available, and the Twins use him correctly. However, people told poor Ralphie, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid.”
Twins fans constantly fret that Buxton will get hurt again.
Still, it’s hard not to be optimistic when you see the current version of Buxton. His stats don’t fully represent his impact. He’s hitting .230/.261/.471 with five homers and 12 RBI entering Thursday’s series finale with the White Sox. However, he’s started to heat up after a slow start, hitting .283/.306/.630 with four homers, eight RBI in his past 11 games.
Buxton is flying around the bases, ranking in the 97th percentile with a spring speed of 29.7 feet per second. He’s stolen a base on all five attempts. Buxton looks like himself playing in centerfield again and put a giant exclamation point with a game-saving diving catch to secure Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Chicago.
It’s understandable if you’re bracing for a pulled hamstring or an outfield collision. But when Buxton plays like this, it’s hard not to be tempted by the player he’s shown flashes of being.
Last year was the first time since Buxton played over 100 games since 2017, but people celebrated it like an exhausted marathon runner crossing the finish line. While Buxton was available for 102 games, it never felt like the All-Star caliber player who hit .306/.358/.647 with 19 homers, 32 RBI, and nine steals in 61 games in 2021.
He also didn’t feel like the player who hit 23 home runs in the first half of the 2022 season to earn his first All-Star appearance. But we all know what happened after he hit a home run in that game at Dodger Stadium. Injuries kept him from playing the outfield for a full year. Last year was more like someone learning to swim again.
However, that player seems further away than ever after enjoying his first healthy offseason in a long time. He doesn’t need to recover from surgery. Buxton was healthy at spring training. He’s showing signs of life at the plate and thriving in the outfield, and it comes at a time when they need something to inject optimism into their ballclub.
Buxton could get hurt again. Still, it’s too late to dig the nuclear sausage out of the landfill. If Buxton stays on the field and plays well, it could be the shot of life this team needs to dig itself out of the same hole they were in a year ago.