Brian James Butterfield (born March 9, 1958 in Bangor, Maine) is the current bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball team.
Butterfield is the son of Jack Butterfield, the former vice-president of player development and scouting for the New York Yankees. The younger Butterfield was a second baseman in the Yankees minor league system before joining the major league team as a roving infield instructor in 1984.
Butterfield later became a coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks, spending five years with them. He then became a minor league manager in the Yankees organization, helming the Bronx Bombers' Florida State League affiliate as well as the Columbus Clippers, the team's Triple-A club in the International League. In 2002, he joined the Blue Jays as their third base coach and infield instructor.
Butterfield has a very good reputation, both within the Blue Jays system and throughout baseball. Orlando Hudson, widely recognized as one of the best defensive second baseman in baseball and winner of the Gold Glove Award in 2005 and 2006, has stated that Butterfield deserves immense credit for making him the defensive player he is. Under Butterfield's tutelage Aaron Hill, a shortstop by trade, has already become an above-average defensive second baseman.
It was announced on September 30, 2007, that Butterfield would be the new bench coach for the Blue Jays in 2008, replacing Ernie Whitt.
References
- Career statistics and player information from The Baseball Cube
- Playball! The Official Program of the Toronto Blue Jays (Issue No. 1, 2006), p. 71.
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