SAM FULD on BRETT BUTLER
If you put a gun to my head and asked me if I thought Brett Butler deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, I’d have to admit that he probably falls a bit short.
He never finished above seventh in MVP voting, he made only one All-Star team and was never really regarded as the best at his position at any point in his career. Shoot, he only made a measly $23.8M in his career that spanned the ‘80s and most of the ‘90s.
But he was great, he was unique and he was truly inspirational for at least one aspiring Major League baseball player.
I’ve only written fan mail to two people in my life. One was to John Glenn, the astronaut-turned-U.S. Senator whose journey on the Friendship 7 was depicted in the movie “The Right Stuff”. I was fascinated by the movie and specifically by the scene that included “fireflies” floating in outer space outside of Glenn’s shuttle. I wrote Mr. Glenn to ask about the fireflies and a couple of weeks later received a response in the form of a pamphlet full of information on space camp. Bummer. I had too much baseball to play to go away to space camp.
The other letter was to Brett Butler.
I’ve only written fan mail to two people in my life. One was to John Glenn, the astronaut-turned-U.S. Senator whose journey on the Friendship 7 was depicted in the movie “The Right Stuff”. I was fascinated by the movie and specifically by the scene that included “fireflies” floating in outer space outside of Glenn’s shuttle. I wrote Mr. Glenn to ask about the fireflies and a couple of weeks later received a response in the form of a pamphlet full of information on space camp. Bummer. I had too much baseball to play to go away to space camp.
The other letter was to Brett Butler.
It wasn’t a typical piece of fan mail, where the kid (or more often, the adult) includes a baseball card and a SASE (self addressed stamped envelope) and asks for a signature. Mine was admiring, but also inquisitive. Because I so wanted to be him, I asked him what he ran the 60-yard dash in! I was twelve years old, obsessed with baseball (still am) and like so many other Little Leaguers, my goal was to one day play professionally. I knew my only chance at playing in college and beyond was to be a speedy outfielder. A short, left-handed one, at that (thank you, 5’6” dad and southpaw mom).
So I’d consult my favorite books, Total Baseball, The Baseball Encyclopedia and The Complete Handbook of Baseball, to see if there was anyone out there who could give me hope. Lenny Dykstra, John Cangelosi, Darren Bragg were all possibilities at various points in my childhood.
So I’d consult my favorite books, Total Baseball, The Baseball Encyclopedia and The Complete Handbook of Baseball, to see if there was anyone out there who could give me hope. Lenny Dykstra, John Cangelosi, Darren Bragg were all possibilities at various points in my childhood.
Dykstra was a 5’10 lefty who played the game with reckless abandon, but there was something that just didn’t feel like that’s who I’d grow up to be- maybe it was the 19-homer season he was in the midst of, or the bag of chew he threw in his cheek every game.
Cangelosi was tiny, threw left-handed and played as hard as Dykstra. But in that pre-internet, pre-Baseball Tonight, pre-interleague era, I don’t think I ever got to see him play, for he was a National League (often bench) player and I only watched Boston Red Sox games.
Bragg, who would play for my Red Sox in the late ‘90s, was a fellow New Englander, but he threw right-handed and even he would pepper balls over the centerfield wall at Fenway during batting practice, something I couldn’t ever see myself doing (Pesky’s Pole, maybe).
But Brett Butler was the one.
But Brett Butler was the one.
He was 5’10”, skinny, and looked more biologist than baseball player. Playing alongside behemoth outfielders like Joe Carter, Kevin Mitchell and Darryl Strawberry, he excelled as the leadoff centerfielder for the Indians, Giants and Dodgers. Whether it was with speed, a keen eye or his unparalleled bunting ability, Butler
While his career stolen base percentage of 68.5% is just ordinary (slightly below average given today’s standards but slightly above the roughly 67% MLB SB success rate that encompassed Butler’s career from 1981-1997), Butler did rack up 558 steals, including eleven consecutive seasons with at least 30 and thirteen seasons in which he finished in the top ten in his league.
While his career stolen base percentage of 68.5% is just ordinary (slightly below average given today’s standards but slightly above the roughly 67% MLB SB success rate that encompassed Butler’s career from 1981-1997), Butler did rack up 558 steals, including eleven consecutive seasons with at least 30 and thirteen seasons in which he finished in the top ten in his league.
So at the very least you can say he got some good usage out of his (lengthy) glove.
Those 558 stolen bases and 815 steal attempts didn’t happen by accident.Butler
Those 558 stolen bases and 815 steal attempts didn’t happen by accident.
Not many people can lay claim to being the best there ever was at something.
The greatest hitter of all-time is debatable- Babe Ruth? Ted Williams? Barry Bonds? The best President, too- George Washington? Abe Lincoln? FDR? Brett Butler, however, is the best bunter the game has ever seen.
Hands down.
In my eight seasons as a professional ballplayer, I’ve had several coaches teach me the art of bunting. None of them mentioned anyone other than Brett Butler. They’ve told me when he stepped into the batter’s box, the whole stadium knew he was bunting (including the other team’s corner infielders) and he still would lay one down safely. I mean, half of his baseball cards are of him bunting!
226 times Butler
I never got a response from that piece of mail I sentButler
I never got a response from that piece of mail I sent
On the day I got drafted by the Chicago Cubs, I thought of Brett Butler. And again when I made my Major League debut in 2007. I was in a small class of people. Literally. Sharing a clubhouse with giants like Derrek Lee and Carlos Zambrano, I was now Brett Butler. I felt like I needed to thank him.
Three years later, I got that chance.
Three years later, I got that chance.
Playing as an Iowa Cub, we headed to Reno Butler
Four games flew by, and with no natural opportunity to approach him, I let the series go by without telling my childhood idol how much he inspired me. I cursed myself the entire flight back to Des Moines Butler
Maybe someday I’ll run into him again. Maybe I’ll even play for him.
But in case I don’t, thank you, Brett Butler.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sam Fuld studied economics at Stanford University
Oh, yeah…dude also happens to play a mean outfield for the Tampa Bay Rays.
