Four months into the offseason and the Oakland Athletics have made the magnitude of personnel changes that many teams make in four seasons. But the Oakland A’s are not like many teams. After all, these are Billy Beane’s A’s so this Winter should not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the team for any length of time.
One of the first orders of business for Billy Beane came in November when he made the somewhat surprising, if not refreshing, move to sign 28-year-old DH/1B Billy Butler from Kansas City fresh off their World Series loss, to a three-year, $30 million contract. This appeared to go against the typical Billy Beane acquisition of buying low, but it made Oakland fans hopeful that there was money to be spent and the A’s front office was not throwing in the towel for the 2015 season. Of course, a lifetime’s worth of changes seemed to transpire between that signing and now, with all but two of Oakland’s seven all-stars from 2014 wearing a different uniform. So while fans have gone through quite the emotional roller coaster this offseason, there are still many reasons for optimism, one of them being the aforementioned Billy Butler.
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Billy Butler was a fan favorite in Royal blue and he is already finding his place in green and gold hearts. In his eight seasons in the Majors he’s proven to be a strong force for the offense with a .295 career batting average. Not one of the Athletics’ starters even came close to that average last season. Although 2014 was a down year compared to Butler’s usual standard, A’s fans were able to see the enthusiasm and drive that characterized his play during the 2014 post season. But it’s not only Butler’s on field play that will prove to win fans over, it’s the way he has embraced the opportunity to play in Oakland and life in the East Bay. He and his wife Katie have tweeted some Bay Area love that makes me even more excited to welcome him to the Athletics. Here’s a little sample of their recent tweets:
I hit up @0aklandish today get some gear for the family! Now the Butler's are #GreenCollar #letsgoAs @katiebutler16 pic.twitter.com/oqRuyP5lei
— Billy Butler (@BillRayButler) January 10, 2015
This is home now...@Athletics pic.twitter.com/MTk3YyAnr6
— Billy Butler (@BillRayButler) January 9, 2015
"Lafayette Reservoir. The East Bay is beautiful!"
Welcome to Oakland Billy!