Joey Butler (New Market 2006), back in the states after a short stint in Japan in 2014, hit a walk-off 2-run home run for the Durham Bulls last night! (Check out the milb.com article here- titled “Butler Blast Boosts Bulls…“) The Bulls won, 8-6.
Butler, a 15th round draft pick of the Texas Rangers back in 2008, played in the majors in both 2013 and 2014, and received exactly 21 plate appearances. He signed with Orix in the Japan Pacific League, and played there in July and half of August in 2014. He got 66 plate appearances there, and hit 231/379/385.
He then signed with the Tampa Bay Rays for 2015, and was assigned to Triple-A Durham to start the season. He’s off to a great start this year, hitting 339/439/554 in 56 at-bats. He has hit 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 home runs so far, and has a 8/15 BB/K ratio. I will not be in the least surprised if Joey is called up at some point in 2015!
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