Greets to the Dodger and Padre groups:
Here is an inspiring story of courage, one that is very appropriate
to this Holiday season.
Former Indians/Dodgers/Brave standout Brett Butler overcame
cancer a few years ago, only to be felled by a stroke late last
summer.
Butler has recovered from THAT too, and will resume his career
as a roving instructor next year for the D-backs, working with
outfielders and on baserunning techniques.
The attached profile of Butler was written recently by a reporter
who covererd his first pro spring training in 1980 as a rookie
league hopeful.
Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukhah and Happy Holidays to all
baseball fans.
Hoover
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Columbia, South Carolina
'State", Nov. 6, 2007
ODDS NEVER AN EVEN MATCH FOR BUTLER
by Ron Morris
YOU COULD NOT help but develop a liking for the effervescent young
Atlanta Braves farmhand during spring training of 1980. The Braves
were beginning to stockpile prospects that would later form
championship clubs in Atlanta.
Brett Butler was not considered to be among those who would one day
play in Atlanta, or anywhere else in the major leagues. Nevertheless,
I was happy to inform him near the end of that spring training camp in
West Palm Beach, Fla., that he was headed to high A ball. Durham was
his destination for the summer.
Butler deserved the move. He played hard. He hustled. He caught your
eye. Upon hearing the news, Butler was ecstatic ... for about 12
hours. The next morning he learned that Atlanta's farm director had
changed his mind. Butler was instead headed to Anderson and low A
ball.
Butler first was furious at me. I gave him bad information. More than
that, he was livid at Hank Aaron, Atlanta's director of the minor
leagues. After giving me an earful, Butler charged into Aaron's
office.
His message to Aaron was the same he had given the kids who picked on
him as a 5-foot, 89-pound ninth-grader. It was the same he had given
his high school coach in Libertyville, Ill., the one who never thought
Butler was a starter and who laughed at the outfielder who believed he
could play in college. The message to Aaron was the same he had given
the Atlanta Braves when they waited until the 23rd round of the 1979
draft to select him.
The message: "I'll show you."
Butler, who will speak Thursday at the 21st Annual Columbia Mayor's
Prayer Breakfast, has been showing folks his entire life. He overcame
great odds to play 17 seasons in the big leagues with five different
clubs. He twice has beaten cancer. He recently suffered a stroke.
"You can look at somebody on the outside and make some assumptions,
but you can never gauge somebody's heart," Butler said recently by
telephone. "The bottom line is that there is a lot of stuff going on
in your heart."
Butler aims to manage in the major leagues. Over the past three
seasons he has coached first base for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and
managed at the Single-A and Double-A levels for the same organization.
This coming season he will coach outfielders and base runners in
Arizona's farm system.
At age 50, he is negotiating the path to the big leagues much as he
did in 1980 when he began the season at low Single-A Anderson. Aaron
told him that the Braves thought more of outfielder Milt Thompson, a
second-round pick, than Butler. So, Thompson began the season at
Durham.
When Thompson was sent to Double-A Savannah at midseason, Butler
was promoted to Durham. The following season, Thompson returned to
Savannah and Butler jumped to Triple-A Richmond. Butler finished the
1981 season in Atlanta and did not leave the big leagues again until
1997 with stops in Cleveland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and the New
York Mets.
Butler was not the most athletic of players, but he made himself into
an outstanding leadoff hitter. He finished his career with a .290
batting average and 2,375 hits. He twice led the National League in
runs scored and played in the 1991 All-Star Game.
His most celebrated achievements probably could have been away from
baseball. In 1996 he overcame throat cancer. In 2003 he was diagnosed
with prostate cancer. In 1997 he wrote a book "Field of Hope: An
Inspiring Autobiography of a Lifetime of Overcoming Odds."
"To much is given, much is required," Butler says. "Everyone goes
through adversity. The bottom line is going to be how you respond to
it. I like to talk about how to give you tools to handle things that
go on in your life, and how you go about living a joyous life."
The latest setback for Butler occurred on July 28 when he suffered a
stroke as a result of scar tissue remaining from his cancer surgery 11
years earlier. Butler did not return the remainder of the season as
manager of the Mobile BayBears in the Double-A Southern League.
Once again, questions hovered around Butler about whether his health
would keep him from managing in the minor leagues and could hinder his
progress toward managing in the major leagues.
No one dares tell him it might not happen.
Listen to commentaries by Ron Morris weekdays at 8:05 a.m.,
2:05 p.m. and 5:58 p.m. on Sports Radio 1400 The Team.
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