Billy Butler Called Up!

by eazyb81 on May 1, 2007 4:51 PM EDT Comment 44 comments

Per 810 radio in KC.

Ryan Shealy sent to DL.

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butler

is he going to play tonight?

by King Felix 21 on May 1, 2007 4:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Batting 7th....

Playing in LEFT FIELD.

Hope it doesn't rain in KC tonight.

by eazyb81 on May 1, 2007 5:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

AWESOME

This is so exciting. Too bad they couldn't have waited a week, since I'm still stuck at school in Texas, and will be home next Tuesday.

Awesome, though. I'll be listening to the radio. I bet he starts tonight. Buddy Bell loves him.

Then again, he let Justin Huber ride the bench hardcore, so we'll see.

by ajohnst1 on May 1, 2007 5:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

eh

not loving it

by playingwithfire on May 1, 2007 5:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

yea god forbid

by wildthang on May 1, 2007 6:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

butler

Hope he doesnt get off to the start that Gordon is off to and the start that Zack Grenkie has got off to his first two years.

by King Felix 21 on May 1, 2007 5:12 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Greinke

Zack was actually nails in 2004 as a 20 year old phenom.

by eazyb81 on May 1, 2007 5:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow.

This is pretty exciting stuff. Would love to see him get off to a fast start.

by Robinson Checo on May 1, 2007 5:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Great News...

Happy Dance, haha!

by NewKidInTown on May 1, 2007 5:29 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

great night to have tickets

i was in KC for Bo Jackson's first game with the club(he was in uniform but did not play-at least that is what my scorecard says) so it will be really cool to see Butlers big league debut tonight live from the K.....personally, i think this is a move that is questionable considering Costa tearing it up in Omaha...but this is the move that will continue to put butts in seats and maybe give us some pop that Shealy was not providing.

Frank Tanana is my all time favorite player and he was a member of VTTigers beloved team....my tribute to VTTigers

by gashousegang on May 1, 2007 5:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hey...

he'll be a Super Two Player if he never goes back down...but at least KC will have him for 7 years (essentially).

YOU'LL NEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVEEEERRRRRRRRRRR WALK ALONE!!!!!

Ballllllly Sta®

by uga007 on May 1, 2007 6:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

look out manny

the younger model has arrived

by robcast23 on May 1, 2007 6:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Mixed feelings

I think he will be a good major league hitter. But if he is only a fillin and doesnt play, Its a waste. Guess we will wait and see. Hopeful he gets a chance to play and plays well. It will be good for KC baseball if Gordon and Butler turn into good major leaguers

by chard11 on May 1, 2007 6:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Not to worry

Dayton Moore said Butler was up to play EVERY DAY. Buddy Bell said the plan was that Billy would be up "a long time."

It sounds like Shealy, once he is better, will go on a long rehab stint in Omaha to get his swing back (he's been awful so far this year), and then he may even stay via option.

Butler will play every day, mostly in left, probably a few starts at DH, AND the Royals are going to start working him out at first base. Obviously, they won't play him there (he's never played the position professionally), but it's interesting that they are giving him reps there.

Half an hour till first pitch. Woohoo!

by ajohnst1 on May 1, 2007 7:42 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

power

Billy Butler is still raw in terms of power, right?

I haven't been following him extremely closely,
but I thought he was something like Delmon in terms of the power could take a while to develop

by god allah star on May 1, 2007 7:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

power

hard to say.

last year he only hit 15 homers. almost all of them were on the road, but gordon didn't seem to have any problem homering in wichita. it was kind of weird.

in 05 butler hit 30, but 25 of those were in the california league, with high desert as his home park.

he already had 6 HR in the first month this year, which implies that the low total last season was kind of a fluke.

he's still only 21 years old. but then, he's a really big guy for a 21-year-old, and i've always had a gut feeling that his power development curve might be a little flat just because he might not have as much filling out left to do as most rookies. but then, he already seems to have a lot of power.

all in all i'd expect something like (prorated) 20-25 HR power in the majors right now, but i wouldn't be surprised by him hitting 12 or 30 or anything in between.

by wily mo on May 1, 2007 8:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Butler power

I saw a game earlier this year where he hit the ball and the camera couldn't even follow it. They officially announced it around 440ft, but I swear it seemed like 500.

He hits to all fields which is why I think his HR numbers haven't been excellent so far but consider his age at the levels he's played at and it really is excellent.

I'd put his power potential up there with anyone in the minors, but he's more of a Hafner kind of hitter than like Ryan Howard or Adam Dunn.

Rays in '08....

by youALREADYknow on May 1, 2007 8:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Great

Greinke puts the Royals in an early 4-0 hole. Looks like Billy will soon get the chance to play the hero...

by ajohnst1 on May 1, 2007 8:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Good Times For Me

I have Butler and Pence in my fantasy league both called up this week and I have Lincecum who SHOULD be called up soon...Oh Happy Times!

by bunner19 on May 1, 2007 8:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

huber

so now shealy's out of the picture, and yet even now justin huber still can't get a shot. is it just because he hasn't been hitting? he's het up a little bit after a bad start and some missed time (day-to-day injury? i never heard the story). is it the love affair with ross gload? is his defense really that bad?

by wily mo on May 1, 2007 8:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Base hit

through the left side of the infield.

by wibadger on May 1, 2007 8:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

He's better than Gordon

Meanwhile Butler gets a hit, Gordon strikes out again. Should of been in AAA for April like Butler was.

by Bravesin07 on May 1, 2007 8:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

well

That's easy to say in hindsight.

by doublestix on May 1, 2007 8:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

start butler, send gordon back

move teahen back to 3rd

woo

by wily mo on May 1, 2007 9:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Manny Ranirez Jr

imo

by nyy601 on May 1, 2007 9:05 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Alex Gordon

Strikes out again.... on pace for about 200 K's if he gets 600 AB's.

Rays in '08....

by youALREADYknow on May 1, 2007 9:15 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Ouch

He needs to be sent down like Beltran was after his ROY season. He needs to learn how lay off the pitch in the dirt which has made him look bad.

by Bravesin07 on May 1, 2007 9:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The lineup looks MUCH better...

...with Butler AND Gordon in it. We all know Sweeney will inevitably go down with his annual injury...and I'm no scout...but I'm pretty sure Russ Gload's name hardly sends chills down opposing pitcher's spines. Considering what these two studs-in-the-making have done in their minor league careers (not to mention the ink and reputation they already possess), I'm thinking their mere presence forces opposing Managers and pitchers to at least be cautious.

The point is valid - Gordon IS struggling, however, he still has 2 dongs, and helps put asses in seats. I'm sure the fans in KC are very excited with the prospect of having these 2 young fellas in the lineup. And let's be honest, this is an organization that hasn't had a whole lot to get excited about the past decade. I say let the kid(s) play through any growing pains.

"Now I know - and knowing is half the battle." -G.I. Joe

by Savoy Special on May 1, 2007 9:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Oops - should have said ROSS Gload...

My bad...

"Now I know - and knowing is half the battle." -G.I. Joe

by Savoy Special on May 1, 2007 9:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

So far

Butler is 1-3 with a single, a groundout, and a line out.

And he's made one excellent play in left field, a shoestring catch, and held the runner at third.

by ajohnst1 on May 1, 2007 9:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Haha just like Manny

He makes enough of those for Boston.

by Bravesin07 on May 1, 2007 10:01 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The Manny comparisons...

really need to stop...Manny is like the 95th percentile of what Butler can do, he's a great hitter, but Manny is one of the 10 best of all time.

Ballllllly Sta®

by uga007 on May 1, 2007 10:19 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Manny 10 best all time

are your serious?

by nyy601 on May 1, 2007 10:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

honestly

i buy that

and honestly, i'm going to keep on saying that billy butler is the next manny...because manny is the type of guy that could wake up naked in antarctica and if you hand him a bat and pitch to him right there he'd wipe the crap out of his eyes then hit you...in other words the guy is a natural born hitter and has more pure ability than anyone IMO

and i feel that butler is similar in that without training or working at it, his hitting ability is sick

by robcast23 on May 2, 2007 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

manny the hitting savant

everyone says this, but it seems not to actually be true.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/04/23/070423fa_fact_mcgrath

Onelcida Ramirez worked as a seamstress in a dress factory; Aristides drove a livery cab and fixed electronics. Manny and his three older sisters, Rosa, Evelyn, and Clara, lived in a sixth-floor walkup on 168th Street. They had no telephone. The neighborhood at the time was one of the city's worst-only East New York, in Brooklyn, had more homicides in 1990. Every morning at five-thirty, Manny left the apartment to run up Snake Hill, behind the high school, with a rope tied around his waist attached to a spare tire that dragged on the pavement behind him. "He was the hardest worker I ever had," Mandl said.

of course, manny probably does have tons of natural talent. and he is also sort of crazy - pleasantly so, in my opinion. but i don't think the skill to do what he does just got brought to him by the tooth fairy. he worked to get good, just like anybody else.

by wily mo on May 2, 2007 12:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

this article

the whole thing is good, by the way. people should read it. this was my favorite part:

Duquette had been following Ramirez's career since high school, but he now concedes that he had no idea "exactly how unique" his new left fielder was. "When Manny first came to the Red Sox, he would stand in the batter's box, and the umpire would call ball four, and he would get back in the batter's box," Duquette, who is now the president of the fledgling Israel Baseball League, told me. "He did this in his first series at Fenway Park and again on his first road trip." After the third such incident, Duquette ventured down into the locker room. "I said, `Manny, let me ask you something. I was just wondering why you get back in the batter's box after ball four.' He said, `I don't keep track of the balls.' He said, `I don't keep track of the strikes, either, until I got two.'

by wily mo on May 2, 2007 12:51 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yeah

the manny article was really great. i can't even decide which was my favorite part. it's probably the story about the time he asked sheldon ocker (a reporter) if he could borrow $60,000 so he & julian tavarez could buy a couple of harleys. "manny, i don't have that kind of money on me," says ocker. "okay, how about just $30,000 for me? tavarez can buy his later." classic manny.

baseball-wise, i think the most interesting anecdote was how he spent years practicing in the batting cage with the machine set to only throw him sliders low & away (on a recommendation from his former teammate albert belle). it explains a lot about his incredible ability over the years to drive the outside pitch with authority.

back to the topic--billy butler is not manny ramirez jr. there are already two manny ramirez jr's (one by his current wife, and an older son by another woman), neither of whom has yet laid waste to minor-league pitching at a young age like butler has. i think he'll be a good one.

by jpahk on May 2, 2007 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hitting Savant: Vladimir Guerrero

By all accounts, Guerrero doesn't study any video whatsoever, of himself or opposing pitchers. When he came over to the American League, Angel coaches asked him if he'd like to study film of some of the pitchers he would be facing. He said, no, that he would learn all needed to know about them when he stepped into the batter's box. That same year, his first in the AL, he won the MVP award.

by Crows Landing on May 2, 2007 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Um, wow

If that's true, that is truly remarkable. I can't believe that. Wow.

by ajohnst1 on May 2, 2007 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Butler with another hit

2-4, two singles, against Colon and Shields.

by ajohnst1 on May 1, 2007 10:37 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

better yet

Didn't look overmatched any AB tonight and I don't remember him swinging and missing once.

His contact skills are incredible. I'd assume he gets most of his strikeouts from watching strikes early in the count or striking out looking on the corners.

Rays in '08....

by youALREADYknow on May 1, 2007 10:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully the rest of the Royals can cowboy up and he can help us win some games. I really think his presence in the lineup will help Gordon: those two are really tight.

by ajohnst1 on May 1, 2007 11:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs