Lawrence Butler earns second American League Player of the Week honor

OAKLAND — When Lawrence Butler gets hot, he gets hot. The Phillies found that out firsthand in July. The Reds made that discovery in August. When Butler catches fire, awards typically await.

Butler was named the American League’s player of the week, the second time this season that he’s earned the honor. Over six games last week, Butler hit .500 (14-for-28) with six home runs, 10 RBIs and two steals.

“Two in the same year is crazy,” Butler said. “I’m honored, blessed, very humbled to say I won player of the week twice.”

Of the six home runs that Butler hit last week, five of them were hit against the Reds. And of the five that were hit against the Reds, three were clubbed in one day, the last of which tied the game in the ninth inning. With the hat trick against Cincinnati, Butler became the 25th player in major-league history to have multiple three-homer games in a single season, a list that includes Geronimo Berroa in 1996.

Manager Mark Kotsay quipped that Butler was as productive in one week as he had been during entire seasons. In a way, Kotsay was correct.

In 2008, Kotsay totaled two steals and six home runs — the exact numbers Butler put up last week. Kotsay needed 110 games to reach those marks; Butler needed six.