Marlins Hire Brett Butler As Hitting Coach

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Whether it was long ball or small ball, it made no difference to the Miami Marlins last season. They ranked last in the majors in home runs and – at the opposite end of the spectrum – bunt hits.

Brett Butler harbors no illusions of curing the power deficiency.

But the Marlins are counting on Butler, an exceptional bunter and base runner over his 17-year major league career, to help get the ground game going in an attempt to cure the team’s scoring woes.

“I think it’s all about attitude,” said Butler, a 56-year-old overachiever the Marlins hired last week as third-base coach in charge of bunting, base running and outfield defense. “I think once they buy into it, it’s easier to teach.”

Butler was an on-base machine as a player from 1981-97, a 5-foot-10 pest who could bunt his way aboard and steal a bag like no one else. Butler’s 245 bunt hits are the most of any major leaguer since the record started being kept, and he also swiped 558 bases.

“He made his name in the game being a bunting, base running and outfield guy,” Marlins general manager Dan Jennings said. “His expertise is something that should be beneficial to our players.”

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