The following commentary was told to me at Candlestick Park in 1989 when Butler was a San Francisco Giant.
NOTE: Brett Butler was among the best lead-off hitters in the 1980s and early 1990s. His career statistics —290 batting average, 2,375 hits, and 558 stolen bases—tell an impressive story.
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I had just completed one of the best seasons of my baseball career. I scored over 100 runs, batted .311, stole 47 bases, and led all American League outfielders in fielding percentage. At my home in Atlanta that winter, I relished the off-season and looked forward to the year ahead.
But on January 16, 1986, my baseball future almost suddenly ended. While playing racquetball, the ball smashed into my right eye, breaking my protective goggles. My eye hemorrhaged, and my vision was impaired. For five days, I lay on my back in the hospital with patches over both eyes.
I knew my career might be over. But, being a Christian, I put everything in God’s hands. I told Him, “If it’s Your will for me to do something else, I’ll accept that.”
When the doctors removed the bandages, they were amazed. My injured eye had cleared up. God had healed me! It was a miracle.
I hadn’t always been so submissive to God’s will. Although I grew up attending a Christian church, it wasn’t until I was a sophomore in high school that I understood I needed to accept Jesus into my heart to go to heaven. That year, at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes conference, I received Christ as my personal Savior. But total dedication didn’t come until later.
Butler at Southeastern Oklahoma State University (photo courtesy of the university)
After graduating high school, I played junior varsity baseball at Arizona State University. Then, I transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where I was an All-American in my junior and senior years. In 1979, I was drafted by the Atlanta Braves and began my climb through their minor-league organization.
I saw how God was directing my steps and turned to Him for help in various matters. I even cut out drinking and tried to stop swearing. However, one area of my life that hadn’t changed was my relationship with women.
I enjoyed wining and dining, and if it led to anything, I figured that was all right. But then I’d feel bad. I’d feel guilty because the Lord was convicting me of the fact that I was wrong.
As I struggled with this weakness, I asked God to put a Christian woman in my life. So in 1982, in Richmond, Virginia, I met Eveline Balac, who had become a Christian just a few months earlier. Three days after we met, we knew we were getting married.
We were married that same year and the Lord solidified that aspect of my life. He dealt with the one weakness I couldn’t give up by putting a Christian woman in my life. It made my entire walk with God stronger.
The Lord has blessed us with four healthy children, all gifts. For me, it is essential to be with your family. The constant travel in baseball makes this more challenging, but we try to keep the family as close together as possible.
We face many tests and trials in life, and baseball players are not exempt. If you look at athletics, there is a lot of pressure. Some people turn to drugs, to drinking, to women.
Some people have a misconception about Christian ballplayers. They talk about us being passive. But if Jesus Christ were a ballplayer, He’d have been the best. Look at Orel Hershiser or other Christian athletes who play very hard. You can’t tell me that these are passive individuals! I’ve always tried to give it my very best in baseball. But, as I’ve discovered, even your best job security is not guaranteed. In 1983, my first entire season with the Braves, I was the starting centerfielder and the lead-off man. I set an Atlanta single-season record with 39 stolen bases, led the Major Leagues with 13 triples, and got five hits in one game against Montreal.
Butler as an Indian (photo courtesy Zeprock)
But late that season, I was traded to the Cleveland Indians. It was a tremendous shock; I’d been with the Atlanta organization since 1979.
With God’s help, I let the past go and gave it my all for the Indians. In 1984, I became the first player in Cleveland history to steal more than 50 bases and score more than 100 runs in the same season. I had four solid years with the Indians, averaging 41 stolen bases a season and leading the Majors in triples again in 1986. But after the 1987 season, we couldn’t agree on a contract, so I decided to become a free agent.
I try to let God direct my steps, so I said,“’Okay, Lord, wherever You want me to be” I never expected San Francisco.
But I enjoy it with the Giants. I grew up across the Bay in Fremont, so it’s almost like coming home. In my first season with the new club, I led the league in runs scored and the team in stolen bases.
So, even through the unexpected changes in my career, the Lord has blessed me unbelievably.
My career didn’t end the day I played racquetball, but it might have. Being blind for five days is a very humbling experience, but it helped me put life in perspective.
As it is, I won’t be in baseball much longer—maybe five or six years. I don’t know what the future holds. All I can do is take it one day at a time and live the way God wants me to. When the game ends, I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
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NOTE: Butler retired as a Dodger at the end of the 1997 season, ending an MLB career that began in Atlanta in 1981. This article first appeared in Full Gospel Business Men’s Voice (July 1989).
