Eddie Butler found a chalk outline of himself on the third base line at Coors Field on Saturday. (Nick Groke, The Denver Post)
Eddie Butler’s base-running adventure Friday night at Coors Field turned into a Saturday afternoon crime scene. The Rockies memorialized his tumble in chalk.
And the mystery of his demise ran through to the deepest of conspiracies.
Butler on Friday got on base for the first time in his career, with a one-out bunt. He ate dirt — twice — before he got back to the dugout. Butler moved to second after Charlie Blackmon singled to center. Then DJ LeMahieu hit a line drive to right. That sent Butler charging for third. He could have scored with little trouble.
Eddie Butler in chalk. (Nick Groke, The Denver Post)
But the rookie pitcher, rumblin’ and tumblin’ toward third, stumbled in the dirt before he reached third. Blackmon raced right behind him. Butler got up, rounded the base, then bumbled again, face first, in the dirt. He was tagged out. But the .
“I don’t think I chuckled at the time. But I certainly did afterward,” manager Walt Weiss said. “That might make him famous. He’ll be on a lot of highlights.”
On Saturday, chalk outlines of his fall showed up, in front of third and after, and in the tunnel from Colorado’s clubhouse to the dugout. And when Butler took the field for pre-game stretching, the Coors Field PA booth played
But who was responsible? The Butler didn’t do it.
Eddie Butler re-enacting his tumble. (Marc Stout, Root Sports)
“I figure it was (Brandon) Barnes or (LaTroy) Hawkins,” Butler said.
Hawkins, when told Butler blamed him, said: “He did?!”
Barnes, when faced with the allegation, said: “I was going to, but it was already out here.”
Weiss also didn’t know who drew the chalk. “I wish I would have thought of that. They were appropriate.”
Finally, a Zapruder-level video surfaced from Root Sports broadcaster Cory Sullivan. The grainy footage, shot from the grassy knoll near the third base dugout, shows Coors Field head groundskeeper Mark Razum painting the outlines.
“I didn’t get hurt and we won, so it’s funny now,” Butler said.
Tags: clubhouse, Cory Sullivan, Eddie Butler, Mark Razum
