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.
Butler’s achievement is all the more impressive given how his season started. The outfielder made the team out of spring training, but he was optioned back to Triple-A Las Vegas after hitting .179 with two home runs and seven RBIs over 41 games.
The A’s recalled Butler in mid-June, and with the help of bench coach Darren Bush, he began turning potential into production. Since being recalled, Butler is hitting .306 with 18 home runs, 10 steals, 46 RBIs and a .979 OPS — a mark that would rank fifth in the league if he qualified. In mid-July, Butler earned his first career player of the week selection after hitting five homers and totaling 13 RBIs.
“When I was training in the offseason, I was planning on coming out here and having a breakout year,” Butler said. “I always thought I was capable of doing it; I just happened to be able to do it this year.”
“To go down (to Triple-A) and have the right mindset says a lot about his character. … It says a lot about what we’re trying to accomplish here with these young guys and how we’re trying to do it and getting them to buy in,” Kotsay said.
Entering Tuesday, Butler is hitting .265 with 20 home runs, 53 RBIs and 13 steals on the season — a breakout. Butler is currently riding a 12-game hitting streak, hitting .420 with a .940 slugging percentage, three steals, seven home runs and 14 RBIs during this stretch.
Along with those numbers, Kotsay noted how Butler navigates cold spells much more smoothly, a testament to Butler’s budding consistency. When Kotsay was asked about Butler’s ceiling, he conjured up an inciting, big round number.
“If there’s consistency throughout the season, he’s putting up numbers that you think a ceiling could be 40 home runs, “Kotsay said. “I don’t even want to cap it there because he’s so young and the tools and the talent are coming together.”
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