Twins’ Byron Buxton got the unluckiest $3 million contract news after MVP vote originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Byron Buxton was so close.
The Minnesota Twins’ star outfielder has bonuses in his contract for his finish in MVP voting.
On Thursday, the American League announced Aaron Judge as MVP, Cal Raleigh as runner-up and then shared how everyone below them in the voting finished.
Buxton was 11th place.
The contract bonuses for Buxton only go through 10th place.
MORE: Shohei Ohtani joins Barry Bonds in MVP history
If he had finished one spot higher, Buxton would’ve earned $3 million.
There are calls from Twins fans on X for ownership to just pay Buxton anyway. It’d be a cool gesture.
MORE: Why Aaron Judge won AL MVP over Cal Raleigh
Buxton finally had a mostly healthy season and showed what he could do.
The Twins and Buxton have stuck by each other since the beginning. They’re the franchise that drafted him, and he’s never expressed much interest in going anywhere else. That loyalty is a really cool thing in a modern sports world that doesn’t have a ton of it anymore.
It makes it extra special that Buxton put together a season like the one he just had. The Twins may not have made the playoffs, and Buxton may have just missed his contract bonus, but it was rewarding for Minnesota to get to watch this version of Buxton day in and day out.
And whether or not he’s $3 million richer, Buxton made his mark with a special season.
MORE: Cal Raleigh didn’t get a Joe DiMaggio benefit of the doubt in MVP vote