azdad1978
Championship!!!!
New coach was wizard of small ball
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 22, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - When Matt Williams was playing third base, he used to cringe every time he saw Brett Butler come to the plate. It only got worse, though, when Butler squared around to bunt, making infielders, pitchers and catchers alike look downright silly at times.
"Playing with him for a while, I had some sort of indication when he was going to do it," said Williams, who is serving as a part-time coach for the Diamondbacks this spring, "but Brett would still put it down where he wanted, and you weren't going to throw him out anyway. You could stand on top of him. It didn't matter.
"He'd deaden the ball so well and it would just trickle up the third base line into no man's land. He was the best."
Recognizing the importance of moving runners into scoring position and getting their pitchers to be automatically flawless in bunting situations, the Diamondbacks hired Butler away from the New York Mets and added him to the major league staff as their new first base coach.
It's already paying off. Just a week since the start of camp, most of Arizona's pitchers are saying Butler has taught them something they didn't know and has made them better bunters virtually overnight. That's a good sign, too, because manager Bob Melvin, through the tutelage of Butler, is challenging the Diamondbacks to be the best-bunting pitching staff in baseball this year.
"I want our pitchers to be able to handle the bat, and that is an advantage," Melvin said. "You watch what St. Louis has done over the years, and it just gives you options. You can hit and run, slash, start some runners. These things over 162 games are very important."
Butler, who managed the Mets' Rookie League team last season in Port St. Lucie, Fla., offers expertise in other areas as well. The former center fielder will help tutor the outfielders from a defensive standpoint, taking everyone under his wing from Luis Terrero to Luis Gonzalez. He will also instruct the finer points of base running, which he did equally as well during a major league career that spanned 15 seasons.
But it is teaching the Diamondbacks how to perfectly execute a bunt in all situations where "Brett Bunt-ler" figures to make the greatest impact.
"I think it's a lost art," said Butler, 47, who played for the Braves, Indians, Giants, Dodgers and Mets before retiring in 1997. "Everybody should be able to bunt, I don't care. I played with Dale Murphy, the '82 and '83 MVP, and that guy could bunt. Steve Garvey could bunt. Back in the day, the No. 4, No. 5 guys who were leading off an inning would lay down a bunt just to get something going.
"A lot of times today, guys are just looking at hitting home runs. That's fine, and I don't take anything away from that ability. But even Barry (Bonds) can lay down a bunt when he wants to, which is something minor leaguers should remember."
Butler made a career out of it. In 1984, he laid down 42 successful bunt hits for the Cleveland Indians. He figures he probably averaged close to 25 a year during his prime, which included leading the National League in singles four consecutive years (1990-93).
"I never had talent, but I could always run," Butler says. "If I couldn't bunt, I wouldn't have played in the big leagues."
When Butler talks bunting, people listen. Diamondbacks pitchers have been eating up his knowledge and rave about his coaching.
"I can bunt pretty good, but I try to do everything the way he says because he was the best at it," Javier Vazquez said.
"I'm from Australia, but I still knew who he was," minor-league pitcher Phil Stockman said, "and for somebody like that to tell you how to bunt, you better take heed to everything he has to say."
"It's fun watching him teach it," fellow pitcher Lance Cormier echoed. "He's the king, and when he's showing us, he's laying bunts down the line pretty much without even watching the ball."
Butler said he's just here to help and he figures to be Mr. Versatile when it comes to instruction. He can help improve all the little things that go into manufacturing runs, which translate into wins. That's why the Diamondbacks wanted him so badly.
"You go back to the 111 losses last year, and for every one that was just a run-off-the-field variety, there were five that were the cumulative result of we couldn't get a bunt down, couldn't move a runner up, couldn't turn a double play, the little things," General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. "That's where a guy like Butler is going to help, not to mention the work I know he's going to do with Terrero in the outfield."
Terrero will have to get in line. Luis Gonzalez has already approached Butler about getting some defensive tips in left.
"Gonzo came up to me the first day we got here and said, 'Brett, I'm glad you're here. I want you to help me be a better outfielder,' " Butler said. "Here's a guy 37 years old, and he wants to improve. Man, I get a lot of gratification out of that."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/special3/articles/0222butler0222.html
Bob McManaman
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 22, 2005 12:00 AM
TUCSON - When Matt Williams was playing third base, he used to cringe every time he saw Brett Butler come to the plate. It only got worse, though, when Butler squared around to bunt, making infielders, pitchers and catchers alike look downright silly at times.
"Playing with him for a while, I had some sort of indication when he was going to do it," said Williams, who is serving as a part-time coach for the Diamondbacks this spring, "but Brett would still put it down where he wanted, and you weren't going to throw him out anyway. You could stand on top of him. It didn't matter.
"He'd deaden the ball so well and it would just trickle up the third base line into no man's land. He was the best."
Recognizing the importance of moving runners into scoring position and getting their pitchers to be automatically flawless in bunting situations, the Diamondbacks hired Butler away from the New York Mets and added him to the major league staff as their new first base coach.
It's already paying off. Just a week since the start of camp, most of Arizona's pitchers are saying Butler has taught them something they didn't know and has made them better bunters virtually overnight. That's a good sign, too, because manager Bob Melvin, through the tutelage of Butler, is challenging the Diamondbacks to be the best-bunting pitching staff in baseball this year.
"I want our pitchers to be able to handle the bat, and that is an advantage," Melvin said. "You watch what St. Louis has done over the years, and it just gives you options. You can hit and run, slash, start some runners. These things over 162 games are very important."
Butler, who managed the Mets' Rookie League team last season in Port St. Lucie, Fla., offers expertise in other areas as well. The former center fielder will help tutor the outfielders from a defensive standpoint, taking everyone under his wing from Luis Terrero to Luis Gonzalez. He will also instruct the finer points of base running, which he did equally as well during a major league career that spanned 15 seasons.
But it is teaching the Diamondbacks how to perfectly execute a bunt in all situations where "Brett Bunt-ler" figures to make the greatest impact.
"I think it's a lost art," said Butler, 47, who played for the Braves, Indians, Giants, Dodgers and Mets before retiring in 1997. "Everybody should be able to bunt, I don't care. I played with Dale Murphy, the '82 and '83 MVP, and that guy could bunt. Steve Garvey could bunt. Back in the day, the No. 4, No. 5 guys who were leading off an inning would lay down a bunt just to get something going.
"A lot of times today, guys are just looking at hitting home runs. That's fine, and I don't take anything away from that ability. But even Barry (Bonds) can lay down a bunt when he wants to, which is something minor leaguers should remember."
Butler made a career out of it. In 1984, he laid down 42 successful bunt hits for the Cleveland Indians. He figures he probably averaged close to 25 a year during his prime, which included leading the National League in singles four consecutive years (1990-93).
"I never had talent, but I could always run," Butler says. "If I couldn't bunt, I wouldn't have played in the big leagues."
When Butler talks bunting, people listen. Diamondbacks pitchers have been eating up his knowledge and rave about his coaching.
"I can bunt pretty good, but I try to do everything the way he says because he was the best at it," Javier Vazquez said.
"I'm from Australia, but I still knew who he was," minor-league pitcher Phil Stockman said, "and for somebody like that to tell you how to bunt, you better take heed to everything he has to say."
"It's fun watching him teach it," fellow pitcher Lance Cormier echoed. "He's the king, and when he's showing us, he's laying bunts down the line pretty much without even watching the ball."
Butler said he's just here to help and he figures to be Mr. Versatile when it comes to instruction. He can help improve all the little things that go into manufacturing runs, which translate into wins. That's why the Diamondbacks wanted him so badly.
"You go back to the 111 losses last year, and for every one that was just a run-off-the-field variety, there were five that were the cumulative result of we couldn't get a bunt down, couldn't move a runner up, couldn't turn a double play, the little things," General Manager Joe Garagiola Jr. said. "That's where a guy like Butler is going to help, not to mention the work I know he's going to do with Terrero in the outfield."
Terrero will have to get in line. Luis Gonzalez has already approached Butler about getting some defensive tips in left.
"Gonzo came up to me the first day we got here and said, 'Brett, I'm glad you're here. I want you to help me be a better outfielder,' " Butler said. "Here's a guy 37 years old, and he wants to improve. Man, I get a lot of gratification out of that."
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/special3/articles/0222butler0222.html
