NewsButler happy with progress at first base
Royals slugger makes vast strides in full season in field
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
11/23/09 8:56 PM EST
KANSAS CITY -- You'd have to pry the first baseman's mitt out of Billy Butler's hot, sweaty hand.Butler has no intention of letting go of the Royals' first-base position that he took for his own last season. He emerged the winner in a scrum that, in Spring Training, also included Mike Jacobs, Ryan Shealy, Ross Gload, Kila Ka'aihue and Mark Teahen.
"I thought I did well," Butler said. "There are definitely some things I can improve on, but I took a huge step forward and I feel like I belong over there and I earned the job," Butler said.
Butler certainly hit well, with his .301, 51 doubles, 21 homers and 93 RBIs earning him the Royals Player of the Year Award. And, after having just 47 big league games at first base in his resume, he put in 145 games there this year.
After being primarily a designated hitter for two years, Butler found a place to play. After he took over early last season from Jacobs, Butler made 10 errors, tying for the American League high, but also handled the fourth-most chances among AL first basemen, 1,243. Considering his lack of experience, he was judged to have done pretty well.
"He really did," manager Trey Hillman said. "He had some shaky games, but I don't think people realize how little that he'd really played there."
This offseason, general manager Dayton Moore is emphasizing improving the league's worst defense, especially at catcher and infield. And since the Royals picked up third baseman Josh Fields in the Teahen trade with the White Sox, there's been an idea floated that Alex Gordon might be shifted over to first base with Butler returning to DH.
"That wouldn't bode well for me, and I feel like I've earned the right to play first base," Butler said firmly. "I feel like I've earned it. I haven't been given anything. I earned the job over there and I feel it's my job and I'm going to continue to progress forward and just keep getting better every day. I've seen my overall game improve this year. I'm a better player when I'm at a position."
Moore said no change is on the Royals' drawing board.
"It's not something we've discussed. We've got a lot of potential scenarios and we have to decide where those guys are going to play," Moore said.
Gordon struggled after undergoing hip surgery, even being sent to Triple-A Omaha for three weeks, so fans might be wondering about a move.
"It's a natural assumption probably because Alex didn't move that well off the hip," Moore said, "and I'm quite confident that Alex is going to be an above-average defensive player wherever he ends up playing. But right now he's our third baseman."
Hillman didn't seem inclined to make a change, either.
"I think Billy's show a tremendous amount of improvement and I think he's pretty good over there and I think he's going to get even better," he said.
Butler feels like he can get better at the plate, too, after a breakout season.
"Absolutely. Coming into next year, I'm just going to build off of it. I've got the confidence, and once you have that, you know you belong there and you've already proved that you can do it," Butler said. "It takes a lot of pressure off of you and you can just go out there and do what you've done your whole life. That's all I've ever done -- just go out and play baseball and let things happen."
Butler reversed his previous tendencies and hit much better at Kauffman Stadium this season (.362) than before. Before this year's .240 on the road, that average was .293 -- compared to .272 at home. One thing Butler did well this year was use the wide-open range at home to his advantage, particularly in right field. For example, his hit chart shows 16 of his 28 doubles at Kauffman landing in right field, with a heavy concentration down the line.
The brawny right-handed batter always has liked to go the other direction.
"You're probably going to see more of that from me next year and for the rest of my career," he said. "That's where I'm going to drive it. I'm not saying I'm not going to drive it to left either, but I'm trying to go right through the ball."
Butler launched into his training regimen right after the season ended. Last winter, he lost weight and built muscle, and the results were good.
"With the success that he's had this past season, I think that will ignite him even more to work even harder this offseason," Hillman said. "I think he's starting to get a pretty good glimpse of what he has a chance of being as a Major League ballplayer. Everybody knows that Billy's confident anyhow, but putting the numbers up that he did offensively and seeing the improvement and desire he has to play first base, I think that's going to spur him to come in in even better shape."
Certainly Butler wants to come in as the first baseman. No doubt about that.
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
