Brian James Butterfield (born March 9, 1958) is an

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, and a former

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player, manager and infield instructor. He has coached for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox,

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, and Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Early years

Born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

, Butterfield is the son of the late Jack Butterfield, a longtime college baseball coach who was vice-president of player development and scouting for the New York Yankees from 1977 until his death in November 1979. The younger Butterfield attended the University of Maine, where his father was head baseball coach from 1957 to 1974, and still resides in Orono, Maine. He also attended Valencia Community College and graduated from Florida Southern College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1980. In 1976, he played

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for the Wareham Gatemen of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, where he helped lead the team to the league title. He is the nephew of College Football Hall of Fame Coach Jim Butterfield.

Playing career

During his active career, Butterfield was a second baseman in the Yankees'

system, playing for five seasons (1979–83) and batting .249 with one home run in 397

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

, largely at the full-season Class A level. A

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

who threw right-handed, he was listed at tall and .

Early coaching career

Butterfield's coaching career began during his professional playing days as a part-time assistant at Florida Southern (1979) and Eckerd College (1980–81). After his playing career ended, he became a roving infield instructor in the Yankees' organization, then a coach at different levels of the Bombers'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. He also managed the Short Season-A Oneonta Yankees (1989) and Class A

Greensboro Hornets Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte, North Car ...

(1990) and Fort Lauderdale Yankees (1992), before joining the Major League staff of Yankees' manager Buck Showalter as first-base coach in 1994–95. After he was replaced by Joe Torre as the Yankees' pilot after the season, Showalter was promptly named the first manager of the

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Arizona Diamondbacks, set to begin play during the

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season. Hired with two seasons to prepare for the team's debut, Showalter brought several Yankees' instructors with him to Phoenix, including Butterfield, to implement the Diamondbacks' player development program. Butterfield was named roving minor league infield instructor in 1996 and then, in 1997, manager of the D-backs' Rookie-level team, the

Arizona League Diamondbacks The Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Salt River Fields ...

. Butterfield then became the first third-base coach in the Diamondbacks' Major League history, serving under Showalter in 1998–2000. After Showalter's firing following the season, Butterfield returned to the Yankees as a minor league manager, helming the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Coun ...

of the Class A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A follow ...

(2001) and beginning 2002 as manager of the Triple-A

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as clipp ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. However, the Clippers got off to a poor, 12–25 start and Butterfield was fired on May 16, 2002. Less than three weeks later, on June 3, 2002,

Carlos Tosca Carlos Tosca (born September 29, 1953, in Pinar del Río, Cuba) is the current Field coach for the GCL Orioles. He is a former Major League and minor league baseball manager. He was the manager of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2002 to 2004. He su ...

, a coaching colleague of Butterfield's with the Diamondbacks, was appointed manager of the Toronto Blue Jays. He hired Butterfield as his third-base coach, beginning a -year tenure for Butterfield in Toronto. During that time, Butterfield served under four different Blue Jay managers.

Infield coaching career

Butterfield has earned a reputation throughout baseball as a premier infield coach.

Orlando Hudson Orlando Thill Hudson (born December 12, 1977) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 2002–2012 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, ...

, who was recognized as one of the best defensive second baseman in baseball during his 11-year MLB career, and winner of the

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

in and , has stated that Butterfield deserves immense credit for making him the defensive player he is. Under Butterfield's tutelage Aaron Hill, a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

by trade, became an above-average defensive second baseman. Butterfield worked very closely with the young and talented Blue Jays third baseman

Brett Lawrie Brett Russell Lawrie (born January 18, 1990) is a Canadian former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago White Sox. Amateur career While playing hi ...

. It was announced on September 30, , that Butterfield would be the

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for the Blue Jays in , replacing

Ernie Whitt Leo Ernest Whitt (born June 13, 1952) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), including twelve for the Toronto Blue Jays, and was the last player from the franchise's inaugural se ...

. On October 30, 2009, it was announced that Butterfield would once again be the Blue Jays' third base coach for the 2010 season. During the 2010 off-season, Butterfield was one of four finalists for the Blue Jays' managerial job, along with John Farrell, DeMarlo Hale, and Sandy Alomar Jr. Two years later, after Farrell's return to the Red Sox as their manager for , Butterfield was again a finalist for the Jays' managerial opening. When

John Gibbons John Michael Gibbons (born June 8, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player and former manager of the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Gibbons briefly played in the Major Leagues as a catcher with the New Y ...

got the Blue Jays' job, Butterfield joined Farrell and the Red Sox on October 30, 2012, as third-base coach. He served through the Red Sox' 2013 World Series championship season, coaching third base, positioning the infielders defensively, working with young players Will Middlebrooks and

Xander Bogaerts Xander Jan Bogaerts (born October 1, 1992; ), nicknamed "the X-Man" and "Bogey" or "Bogie", is an Aruban professional baseball shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston ...

, and helping to convert Mike Napoli from

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

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. Butterfield was rehired for with the rest of Farrell's staff after the World Series triumph, and remained the team's third-base and infield coach through October 26, 2017, when, two weeks after Farrell's firing, Butterfield took a similar job on the staff of the

. Butterfield was hired by the Los Angeles Angels as their third base coach prior to the 2020 season. The Angels dismissed Butterfield after the 2021 season. On January 21, 2022, it was reported that Butterfield was denied a role on the

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staff for his refusal to receive the

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References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butterfield, Brian 1958 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks coaches Baseball coaches from Maine Baseball players from Maine Boston Red Sox coaches Chicago Cubs coaches Columbus Clippers players Florida Southern Moccasins baseball players Fort Lauderdale Yankees managers Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Greensboro Hornets players Los Angeles Angels coaches Maine Black Bears baseball players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball third base coaches Miami Marlins (FSL) players Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees coaches Oneonta Yankees players People from Orono, Maine Sportspeople from Bangor, Maine Toronto Blue Jays coaches Wareham Gatemen players