Billy Butler appeared in 159 games in 2009, and followed that up with 158 in 2010. Those are impressive numbers for a (supposed?) bad-body type player, who has nearly exclusively played first base, all for two bad Royals teams. For his part, Butler's been very durable. For their part, the Royals have been very dogged in playing Billy.
This makes Butler's solid work the last two years a little more impressive. In '09-'10, in 1350 PAs, Butler posted a .309/.375/.480 line.
Through his age 24 season, Butler has amassed a semi-astounding 2188 plate appearances. You really can't be any more "established" as a veteran player than Butler now is. By way of comparison, Wilson Betemit, who is 28 and made his Major League debut at 19, has only 1590 career PAs.
In terms of recent Royals, Butler's early... I dunno... permanence in the lineup is reminiscent of how David DeJesus quickly became a fixture in the outfield. Only, DeJesus was a college player who debuted at 23. Butler had been to the plate
There's no big conclusion here. I simply find this interesting. Is Butler a little more athletic than we thought? Just a young guy playing ball? Should the Royals have rested him a little more? Is he now "due" to break down earlier? I have no idea. I kinda zoned out on noticing him out there every day, because the Royals were doing the same with a catcher and shortstop that I hated watching.