Buxton, Correa Turn Spring Training Game into Fireworks Show

By Eric Strack |

Updated: Apr 1, 2022

Spring Training is supposed to be about pitchers ramping up pitch counts and hitters working on timing. Games don’t really matter and results are quickly forgotten. But anytime you have Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa leading off a lineup together, there is a propensity for fireworks. And that’s exactly what happened on Friday afternoon in Fort Myers, FL.

Buxton approached the plate to start the bottom of the 1st inning and it ended with a light jog around the bases. It was his 3rd homerun of the Spring. Buck’s old friend and new teammate, Carlos Correa, quickly followed with a missile of his own, this one into the left-center gap.

Leadoff bomb for Buck ????@Twins | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/HwAPdyW0wf
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) April 1, 2022

Pretty good top of the lineup, dontcha think? ????@TeamCJCorrea | #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/3MfByB2Df8
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) April 1, 2022

Foreshadowing

Chris Archer’s first Spring Training appearance as a Twin didn’t go nearly as well as Buxton and Correa’s day. He had a pitch limit of 50 and couldn’t stay under that through three innings. Archer was pulled two outs into the 3rd after giving up 3 runs on 5 hits (1 HR) and 51 total pitches.

But this afternoon was about foreshadowing what’s to come for this new Minnesota Twins squad. Because the bats picked Archer and the Twins pitching staff up again in the 4th. Buxton stepped up with two runners on and left the ballpark again. He finished the day 3/3, with 4 RBI. This time, sick of being outdone by the guy who hits in front of him, Correa went deep too.

Back-to-back jacks from @OfficialBuck103 and @TeamCJCorrea.

The @Twins are looking scary. ???? pic.twitter.com/k0Eg8DXbKN
— MLB (@MLB) April 1, 2022

MVP race at Target Field

If Byron Buxton stays healthy for 100+ games this season, he’s going to look like the biggest bargain in Major League Baseball and it won’t be close. If he plays 125+ games, he might win the MVP. And that’s not hyperbole.

But Carlos Correa has already shown that he’s the real deal too. Could the Minnesota Twins really have two players in their lineup? Are we really buckling up for Buxton and Correa trading haymaker MVP shots throughout the 2022 season, lifting the Twins into the playoffs in the process?

Health could be the only thing standing in the way. Oh, and their starting rotation of misfit toys. But we don’t have to ruin our Friday writing about that today, thanks to Buck and C4.