A's right fielder Lawrence Butler made an embarrassing mistake as he was doubled up after failing to run to first on a popup during Tuesday night's game against Detroit.
It happened in the bottom of the eighth with one out and a runner on first with the game tied at 5-5. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Butler hit a popup straight up in the air near home plate. It initially looked to be foul, so rather than running to first, Butler took a few steps back to the dugout and watched the ball from the grass in foul territory on the first base side. Tigers catcher Jake Rogers deferred to third baseman Colt Keith, who appeared to have a bead on the ball.
Things got interesting, however, when the ball drifted away from Keith and landed in fair territory. The A's runned on first held near the bag expecting the ball to be caught, so Keith threw to second for the easy out. Meanwhile, Butler was also caught napping when he should have been running all along. He found himself scrambling to first base, but he was thrown out to complete the double play.
it took 10 seconds for lawrence butler to get to first base pic.twitter.com/4kfPgsDpql
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) August 27, 2025
We have seen lots of baserunning mishaps this year, but this blunder by Butler was inexcusable. If he had even jogged to first, he would have made it. It is even more unforgivable when you realize that Butler is making $2.25 million dollars this season. When you are making that type of money, the least you could do is give your best effort.
Butler finished 0-for-4 from the plate, but did draw a walk in the 10th inning as the A's put together a walk-off rally to win the game 7-6.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports).
