Lawrence Butler: “He paved the way for me and a lot of other guys in the big leagues.”
Oakland Athletics’ Lawrence Butler gestures after hitting a solo home run in the third inning of their MLB game at the Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, April 12, 2024. OAKLAND — Lawrence Butler will shed his usual jersey for No. 42 Monday night when the Athletics begin a three-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
“It will mean a lot,” Butler said before the A’s closed out a three-game series Sunday with a 7-6 win against Washington. “I’ve never worn that number, and to have a day where everyone can wear it — not only black guys, but everybody — is pretty cool. He paved the way for me and a lot of other guys in the big leagues.”
A sixth-round draft pick out of high school by the A’s in 2018, Butler, who was born in New Jersey but grew up in Atlanta, was aware of Robinson’s story as a youth but didn’t totally grasp its significance. “I played all three sports at a young age, but a lot of my friends, we just loved baseball,” Butler said. “The majority of the teams I played on were all black. I always felt like I had more fun on the baseball field than with basketball and football. I played basketball and football all the way up to the ninth grade, but baseball was a different feeling.”
“The meaning behind Jackie Robinson Day, I became more aware of what it really meant when I got to high school and college,” Kotsay said. “It’s an honor to put that jersey on, really. I’ve been blessed and fortunate to be in the game for awhile and be part of this game and had a chance to wear that jersey as a player and now as a manager.
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