Kid From Brooklyn Baseball Bat

Sand Gnats Nine: Q and A with Jet Butler

The game of baseball starts with nine: nine innings, nine players in the field, like the “Mudville Nine” in the poem “Casey at the Bat.”

In that spirit, here are nine questions for Sand Gnats infielder/outfielder Jet Butler.

Your first name is James. Why do you go by Jet?

JB: That’s my initials. James E. the Third. They skipped the last name. (Butler’s middle name is Eugene.)

What did you think of your partial season last year in Savannah?

JB: I got drafted last year. They sent me to Brooklyn. I was there for about three weeks and then I came here, probably for two months. I really enjoyed it. We were in the playoffs for the first time in a long time. A good team. I made a lot of good friends. It was a really cool experience. Savannah the town is a really cool place. I’ve enjoyed the town itself. It’s hot. Being from Pensacola, Fla., I’m used to that.

How many positions do you play?

JB: At Tate (High School), I only played shortstop. Then I went to Mississippi State and played shortstop my first couple of years. My junior year I played second. My senior year, I played all over. Since I’ve gotten to pro ball, I’ve played every infield position, left, right and DH, pretty much everywhere.

What position are you being projected to play?

JB: I would think my value is in being able to move around. I hit from both sides. Obviously, any hitter’s ticket is to hit. You’ve got to swing the bat. Move around, versatility, that’s what I’m trying to do.

Were there growing pains learning to be a switch hitter?

JB: It’s definitely a challenge. I’ve done it since I was a little kid. They said that when they brought me home from the hospital, I swung a little Nerf bat. My dad would switch my hands. I’d swing it. He’d switch my hands. It is a challenge. One day you feel good from this side. The next day you feel good from the other side. Then you get the other pitcher. It’s a challenge, but it also can be really, really helpful.

Detroit Tigers acquire Delmon Young - MTRMedia.com

Delmon Young is now a Detroit Tiger. It is an interesting acquisition since he is the younger brother of former Detroit Tigers slugger Dmitri Young, and that the Tigers acquired him from the Minnesota Twins, whom they play next starting tonight. He is a bat, that with the injuries to Brennan Boesch, Victor Martinez, and Carlos Guillen is desperately needed, but he might only be a rental as he is arbitration eligible this off-season.

I have very mixed feelings on this one. Dmitri had a very tumultuous stay in Detroit, and this is the guy who served a big suspension for hitting an umpire with a bat in the minor leagues. He has been a productive member of a divisional winner, so on that I think his addition is a plus. However, this family has been known to create problems and that makes me somewhat nervous.

Delmon had a great 2010, but has struggled some in 2011. He has been a lot better since the All Star Break, and is hitting .266 with 4 home runs and 32 RBI. He will play left field and bat third tonight against his former club.

I don't think he will be here long term, even though the Tigers could use another outfielder in the near future as Magglio Ordonez is unlikely to return, and the other options already on the Tigers roster are not all that great. He would have to beat out either Boesch or Andy Dirks to secure an outfield job after 2011 with the Tigers.

The Tigers gave up Minor League Pitcher Cole Nelson and a player to be named later to get Young.

Related Links:

Brooklyn, a novel

Dreams from My Father, A Story of Race and Inheritance

From Dead to Worse

A tree grows in Brooklyn, a novel

Gift from the Sea