Salvatore Philip Butera (born September 25, 1952) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 catc ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 1980 to 1988, for five different teams. He was a major-league scout for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

during the 2015 season.

Baseball career

Signed by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

as an amateur free agent in 1972, Butera made his major league debut in an extra innings game against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

on April 10, 1980. He struck out in his only at bat. Butera remained with the Twins as

Butch Wynegar Harold Delano "Butch" Wynegar Jr. (born March 14, 1956) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and California Angels, and was a ...

's back-up until

Spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

1983 when he was dealt to the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. Injuries limited Butera to only four games with the Tigers, with most of his season being spent with their Triple-A affiliate, the

Evansville Triplets The Evansville Triplets were a Minor League Baseball team of the Triple-A American Association (AA) from 1970 to 1984. They were located in Evansville, Indiana, and played their home games at Bosse Field. The Triplets served as a farm club for ...

. He was released at the end of the season. Butera spent the 1984 season with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

triple A American Association affiliate, the

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

, and appeared in three games for the Expos following a September call-up. After the 1985 season, he was dealt to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

with

Bill Gullickson William Lee Gullickson (born February 20, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played professionally in Canada, the U.S. and Japan, during an 18-year professional career, of which 14 seasons were spent in MLB. MLB care ...

for

Dann Bilardello Dann James Bilardello (born May 26, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher and former manager of the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Florida State League in the St. Louis Cardinals minor league system. A product of Cabrillo ...

Andy McGaffigan Andrew Joseph McGaffigan (born October 25, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player who pitched in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1991. Amateur career A native of West Palm Beach, Florida, McGaffigan attended Twin Lakes High ...

John Stuper John Anton Stuper (born May 9, 1957) is an American former baseball coach and pitcher. He attended Point Park University before playing professionally from 1982 to 1985 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. He then served as the ...

and

Jay Tibbs Jay Lindsey Tibbs (born January 4, 1962) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with a seven-year career from 1984 to 1990. Tibbs graduated from Huffman High School in 1980, the same year he was named Alabama's High School Player of ...

. He was released by Cincinnati during the 1987 season, and was immediately re-signed by his original franchise, the

. Butera was a member of the Twins team that defeated the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in the

1987 World Series The 1987 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1987 season. The 84th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Minnesota Twins and the Nati ...

. He was released, re-signed, and released again by the Twins during the 1987–1988 offseason, then was signed by the

, where he played in 23 more games. Following his playing career, Butera was the video replay and catching coach for the Blue Jays during the 2014 season. He became a major league scout for the 2015 season.

Personal

Butera and his wife have a son,

Drew Drew may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;In the United States * Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Drew, Mississippi, a city * Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Drew County, Arkansas ...

, who also played for Minnesota during his major-league career, and later became a member of the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

' and Chicago White Sox's coaching staffs. Butera was inducted into the

Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is an American sports hall of fame based in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York. The non-profit was established during 1990 to honor outstanding people, living or deceased, who have gained prominence and made s ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

in the Baseball Category with the Class of 2002. Butera is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and has said he relates especially to

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butera, Sal 1952 births Living people Baseball coaches from New York (state) American people of Italian descent American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Queens, New York Cincinnati Reds players Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Gulf Coast White Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Lynchburg Twins players Major League Baseball catchers Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players Orlando Juice players People from Richmond Hill, Queens Portland Beavers players Suffolk Sharks baseball players Syracuse Chiefs players Tacoma Twins players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays coaches Toronto Blue Jays players Toronto Blue Jays scouts