Guess this player

by loyal2sdad on Aug 19, 2009 10:31 AM EDT

This player has more extra base hits this season than Michael Young, Ibanez, Hawpe, Damon, Cano, Zimmerman, Branyan, D Lee, Bay, Tulowitzki, Kinsler, Youkilis, J Upton, C Lee, Miguel Cabrera, Utley, Mauer, Kemp, and Zobrist, among others.

He has as may extra base hits as Sandoval, Adrian Gonzalez, and Hanley Ramirez.

He is within 6 extra base hits or fewer of Fielder, Reynolds, Lind, Howard, Braun, Ethier, Morneau, K Morales, Dunn, and Longoria.

Of course, he is still quite a bit behind Teixeira (8 behind) and Pujols (15 behind)

He is ONLY 23 years old!

I'm sure everyone has guessed by now that I speak of Billy Butler. There are caveats here - he does play 1B, where this sort of production is expected, and he does need to convert some of his doubles to homeruns to truly match some of the guys listed above - but let me repeat something: HE'S TWENTY-THREE! It is probably gonna happen!

Rany had a great post today, in which he pointed out that amid a season that has been largely disastrous, two of the former 3 first round draft picks that we are counting on to be the cornerstones of the future have made the leap and done exactly that - set the stage for being the cornerstones we need going forward.

We all get caught up in the day to day disasters of this franchise, and (rightfully) are concerned with the abilities of the GM and the player development system, but having two probable stars going forward, under team control for 3 and 4 years respectively, is actually a good start towards building a contender. At least this season hasn't been a total waste, at least in this respect.

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The Process

Trusted and going strong.

funny aside, good post, I think at times we as fans also want to see ‘results’ now, however it does take time. Long, excruciating baseball time. Time is a whore.

When super delayed gratification meets with underachieving veteran they laugh at the Royals, just a hypothesis though

by MarioVanPeebles Republic of China on Aug 19, 2009 11:50 AM EDT reply actions

Time flies like the wind.

Fruit flies like a banana. Groucho Marx

"Things could always be worse." - Buddy Bell

by buddyball on Aug 19, 2009 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions

Shoulda dealt him for Yuniesky Betancourt when we had the chance

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Aug 19, 2009 12:50 PM EDT reply actions

That Kind Of

Opportunity does not present itself twice in a lifetime.

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Aug 19, 2009 4:59 PM EDT up reply actions

willie horton

In my days growing up as a Tigers’ fan, during the miseable 1970’s, all we had to root for was Willie Horton, more or less. Team loyalty was centered on one or two bright spots, especially for kids. Butler is probably the only player besides Geinke who can play this role for the Royals. Even now, about the only thing I care about with the Royals, for this season at least, is Butler and Greinke.

StonewallPDS

by StonewallPDS on Aug 19, 2009 2:02 PM EDT reply actions

You Rooted For

This guy?

I used to be an A's fan until they left town and got good.

by philofthenorth on Aug 19, 2009 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Its five more years of control for Bulter, four for Gordon.

Go Royals!

by BabyBlues on Aug 19, 2009 2:02 PM EDT reply actions

One of the things I was thinking about yesterday with Billy and his doubles was...

how unlucky his pocketbook might end up being that he didn’t come up 10 years ago when there was pretty much free reign with the juice. Not saying he would have used or gained a ton of power, but just a little more power right now could be a huge difference. Of course, as he continues to develop, that power might come out anyway.

He can get 4, NOT 5.

by Warden11 on Aug 19, 2009 5:33 PM EDT reply actions

Kudos to Dayton Moore for drafting Billy Butler and holding on to him with all his willpower!

I'm not a sabermetrician, but I do play one at Driveline Mechanics.

Can't get enough of me? Check out my Twitter feed.

by Matt Klaassen on Aug 19, 2009 6:22 PM EDT reply actions

Can you imagine what kind of

((amazingly important counting)) stats he could have put up if he wasn’t constantly getting on base with two outs and then promptly sent back to the dugout

Holy Shit!!!...Peterson resigned...Am I dead?...Is This Heaven?

by RoyalsFanStuckInCardsLand on Aug 19, 2009 7:37 PM EDT reply actions