ARLINGTON – Following yet another hitless performance on Monday night, Lawrence Butler provided a brutally honest self-assessment of his at-bats as of late.
“Terrible," Butler said. “I can’t hit a watermelon on a tee right now.”
Butler is on his way to posting the best season of his young career, tied with Aaron Judge for fifth-most doubles (24) among Major League outfielders and 13th-most extra-base hits (40). Since returning from the All-Star break, though, Butler was 0-for-13 in the Athletics’ first four games back, with the skid extending to 0-for-15 dating back to July 13.
“I mean, I really ain’t hitting nothing for real right now,” Butler said. “But it’s baseball. Hopefully, one day, it’ll turn around. But I pretty much haven’t done anything to help the team at the plate.”
The odds of turning things around seemed unfavorable on Tuesday night given that the A’s were facing Rangers ace Jacob deGrom, who after a few injury-riddled seasons has fully restored his mystique as one of the most dominant pitchers this game has seen over the past decade, heading into the matchup carrying the fourth lowest ERA (2.32) in MLB.
Four pitches into the game, however, Butler snapped that 0-fer in a major way by slugging a 368-foot leadoff home run to provide the A’s an early lead in Tuesday’s 6-2 loss to the Rangers at Globe Life Field, marking only the seventh time in deGrom’s 12-year big league career (playoffs included) that he’s allowed a homer to begin a game.
“I thought Lawrence’s at-bats were better tonight,” manager Mark Kotsay said. “Coming out of the break can sometimes be challenging just to find your rhythm and get back into the groove. … It was nice to see him swing the bat and get us out to a lead.”
No player is harder on themselves inside the A’s clubhouse – and perhaps across all of baseball – than Butler, who Kotsay described as “his own worst enemy” at times. He desires to be great and come through in every clutch moment and struggles to deal with periods of failure because he feels like he’s letting his teammates down.
That’s why Kotsay made it a point to remind Butler that he is still on track for a strong campaign in what is essentially the 25-year-old outfielder's first full season in the big leagues. Now sitting at 14 home runs and 16 stolen bases with a .738 OPS, Butler will more than likely become the first A’s player to record a 20-homer, 20-steal season since Coco Crisp in 2013.
“For him and Jacob [Wilson], they both have struggled a little bit post-All-Star break,” Kotsay said. “But these guys are still way above their career numbers in terms of performance for a season.”
What irks Butler the most about his most recent tough stretch is the pileup of strikeouts. After homering to begin Tuesday’s game, he struck out another three times to bring his total to nine over the past three games.
For the season, Butler’s 121 strikeouts are the sixth-most among all Major League hitters, leaving him with a clear task to improve upon before the end of the year.
“I was hoping [the homer would be a confidence boost], but it didn’t turn out that way for the rest of the game,” Butler said. “It was a good feeling to get the team on the board and out to an early lead. … But I’m striking out a lot. If I could put the ball in play more, I’d probably say otherwise.”
As much as young players want to achieve stardom from the jump, there is still a development and growth process they must go through first. With only 265 games of Major League experience under his belt, Butler is no exception. There is still a learning curve for him to endure before unlocking that greatness the A’s believe he can one day reach on a more consistent basis, and he’s currently navigating that period.
“He understands the magnitude of the moment,” Kotsay said of Butler last month. “He expects himself to perform and get that hit. And if he doesn’t, he feels responsible to everyone. His teammates, the fan base and the group that supports him.
“He’s an emotional kid. If we can keep him level-headed, you’re going to see him excel and perform. That’s our goal.”