SoCalTwinsfan Junior, Jr. ran into the living room while sporting a Minnesota Twins jersey with a 25 on the back. He ran over to his grandfather and jumped on his knee.

S: "Whatcha doing, Grandpa?"

G: "Watching Byron Buxton's final baseball game."

S: "You mean of the season?"

G: "Nope. It's the final game of his career. He's retiring after today."

S: "But he's the best baseball player in the world!"

G: "No doubt about it. But he says he's too old to play such a difficult sport. He's going to try something easier. He's already signed a contract with the Timberwolves."

S: "Cool! I just wish we could have watched him in the World Series one more time."

G: "I know. Me, too. But the Twins' dynasty had to end sometime. It's hard to ask for more than 16 consecutive titles."

S: "Is Buxton going to be the MVP again?"

G: "Well, he's won 15 in a row and he won the triple crown again, so he's a big favorite to win it again."

S: "I don't like not having the Twins in the World Series."

G: "Me neither. This is the first time they haven't been in the World Series since before Buxton was called up to the Twins."

S: "What was it like to watch the Twins before Buxton?"

G: "I told you to never speak of the Dark Time. It was not good. Let's just leave it at that."

S: "When did the Dark Time end?"

G: "June 14, 2015, the day Buxton was called up. I remember it like it was yesterday. The Twins had lost 5 games in a row and were in danger of falling out of a playoff position."

S: "And that all changed when Buxton came up, right."

G: "Yep. It was a hot, muggy afternoon in Texas. Manager Paul Molitor had Buxton batting ninth."

S: "Why would you bat your best player ninth?"

G: "That's a good question. I guess Molitor didn't want to put too much pressure on him in his first game. With the Dark Time having lasted over four years, Twins fans were desperate for a great player to come up out of the minor league system to save the franchise."

S: "And he did!"

G: "He did at that. But as good as he had been in the minors, they still didn't realize just how great he was to become."

S: "So, how many home runs did he hit?"

G: "None."

S: "Well, how many triples did he hit?"

G: "None."

S: "Did he get any hits?"

G: "Nope. He struck out twice on curveballs in the dirt and even messed up a sacrifice bunt when he hit right back to the pitcher and the runner was thrown out at third base."

S: "Why would you have your best player sacrifice bunt?"

G: "Another good question. I don't know. Maybe Molitor was hoping it would be easier to sac bunt and have a positive at-bat after striking out a couple times."

S: "Did the Twins win at least?"

G: "Of course. After reaching on the fielder's choice, Buxton easily scored from first on a double to the gap. That started their season-ending 112-game win streak all the way through the postseason."

S: "Cool. And he got his first MVP?"

G: "No. Since he only played in 101 games, they decided to give the MVP that year to a guy from the Angels. Mike something or other. They used to compare him to Buxton, but he was never that good."

S: "Grandpa, are we ever going to see anyone as good as Buxton?"

G: "I wouldn't count on it, although the Twins did just draft this kid named Brix..."