Two operations for cancer and 32 radiation treatments later, Brett Butler made good Friday on his promise to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In his first game in more than four months, Butler went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and two nice catches in Friday night's 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates."It's nothing short of a miracle," Butler said before the game. "Basically, I've been through hell and back."
Butler highlighted his comeback with a two-out single to left in the fifth inning. The crowd roared as Butler took off toward first base. It was his first hit since getting an RBI single off Colorado's Mark Thompson in his last at-bat May 1.
In the sixth, Butler caught Carlos Garcia's line drive on the warning track, the same place he made an over-the-shoulder grab of Jason Kendall's ball for the final Pittsburgh out in the fourth.
His wife, Eveline, smiled and clapped as her husband was the first Dodger to race on the field and take his position in center. A fan in the outfield seats hoisted a spray-painted homemade sheet with the words "Brett Somebody Loves You."
"Just walking out on the field is enough for me," Eveline said earlier. "I don't care if goes 0-for-4."
It didn't long for Butler to get into the action. Pittsburgh's Mark Johnson, the fourth batter, hit a ball that Butler played off one bounce and threw to second base. Then he caught a fly by Mike Kingery for the final out of the half-inning.
The second standing ovation of the night interrupted Butler's first at-bat. He stepped back out of the box, and tipped his blue helmet to the crowd, who also showered him with prolonged applause during pregame introductions.
Butler didn't stay long at the plate. He hit a roller to second baseman Jeff King, who flipped to first for the out. He then flied to left in the third, singled and walked in the eighth.
A bottle of water - a precious liquid that Butler depends on to wet his ever-present dry throat - sat on top of a box in his locker near a pamphlet called "What God Has Joined Together."
Butler will be allowed to stash a water bottle in his pants pocket when he roams center field during games. He still has six more months of radiation ahead.
A color photo of Butler and his 8-year-old son, Blake, stuck out from behind Butler's nameplate on his locker, a reminder of the family that kept him going during the months when he wasn't sure he would live.