How transfer Billy Butler's mouth and bat have made him a Southern Miss baseball fan favorite
Twice in Billy Butler’s baseball career, there were instances that, depending how they broke, would not have led him to playing left field for Southern Miss.
First, there were the shoulder injuries. Then, there was a signed professional contract that was voided hours later.
After not being in the Golden Eagles’ lineup for the first seven games of the season, he’s mashed his way into becoming one of their best hitters. He’s yet to come out of the starting lineup in the 13 games since.
That plus some heat-of-the-moment comments following a 5-4 loss to Mississippi State have turned the sixth-year Rhode Island transfer into a Southern Miss fan favorite.
“Ever since Billy Butler got to Hattiesburg, he's all bought in to Southern Miss,” said outfielder Slade Wilks, who’s also his roommate. “... He bought in from Day 1, and it's been awesome.”
Billy Butler injuries limit time at Rhode Island
Butler, a Foster, Rhode Island, native, rarely played as a freshman at Rhode Island in 2019, and didn’t appear in any of its 13 games in 2020 before the pandemic.
Two weeks before his junior season, Butler was at his house when he pulled on something and tore his labrum and dislocated his right shoulder.
“I thought I was cramping up and I was freaking out,” Butler said. “It just looked like my shoulder was hanging down. My forearm was down here by my knee.”
Butler popped it back into place and opted to not have surgery. He missed the start of the season, but broke out with a team-leading .337 batting average, .584 slugging percentage and five home runs.
Then, his senior season began with a home run on his very first at-bat. But in the bottom half of the inning, Butler dove for a ball and reinjured his shoulder. He underwent season-ending surgery. His home run was his only at-bat of the season.
“It was very tough going through that first month or two because right after surgery you're useless,” Butler said. “You're sitting there. I couldn't sleep that well.”
Butler said he considered quitting but returned for a fifth season at Rhode Island. It turned into the best season of his career, posting a .349 batting average, .636 slugging percentage, 44 RBIs, 13 home runs and an All-Atlantic 10 first-team selection.
“I'm glad it happened that first game instead of in the middle of the year,” Butler said. “I wouldn't have been able to get that year back. I wouldn't change it for anything.”
Transfer to Southern Miss baseball comes down to final hours
Butler wasn’t planning on playing anymore college baseball after last season, so he signed a contract to play in the MLB Draft League for draft-eligible players. But that also meant burning his last season of college eligibility from the extra COVID year.
Butler called his parents shortly after. His mom was happy for him. His dad pumped the brakes.
“He wasn't even saying, like, transfer,” Butler said. “He was just saying I think you should think about taking this sixth year because he just thought I would regret it.”
A couple hours later that same day, the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League called and offered him a spot. Butler utilized a 24-hour void clause, scrapped the contract and retained his college eligibility.
“If they called me a day later, I'm legally bound to it,” Butler said. “It's one of those things where looking back at it, it's literally just God's plan.”
There were no prior connections between Southern Miss and Butler until he entered the transfer portal. The Golden Eagles reached out, he visited in July with his mom and then committed.
“Had a great time and really felt a connection about the human being part of it,” first-year Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander said, “a guy that would fit into our culture because you don't ever want to disrupt that by bringing in the wrong people. He had other options, but he liked what he saw here.”
Billy Butler opens season on Southern Miss baseball bench, then sparks offense
Butler, a 6-foot-2, 234-pound outfielder, made his first start on Feb. 25 against Missouri State. Southern Miss was in need of an offensive jolt, and he provided one going 2-for-3 with a double and two runs.
He and the coaching staff said that a rough fall ball resulted in the team's oldest player at 23 riding the pine to begin the season.
“Not trying to put down anybody, I think he saw the best pitching he's ever seen in his life here that first fall,” assistant coach Travis Creel said. “Hitting is contagious, whether it's good hitting or bad hitting, I think it kind of spiraled on him in the fall.”
Butler hit his first home run against Indiana State, then another against Mississippi State and two more against Louisiana Tech for four home runs in three games. After the weekend sweep of Marshall, Butler is first on the team in OPS (1.167) and tied for first in home runs (4).
Fans really started to rally behind him after he called out Mississippi State players for excessively celebrating their win against the Golden Eagles.
Bulldogs star Dakota Jordan hit the go-ahead solo home run in the seventh inning. Butler and Jordan were teammates last summer with the Newport Gulls.
Butler said he feels guilty for making the game "more about me than anything else."
“When all that was going down, me and him were just going back and forth texting,” Butler said. “We've been laughing about it the past week or so."
Sam Sklar is the Southern Miss beat reporter for the Hattiesburg American. Email him at ssklar@hattiesb.gannett.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Southern Miss baseball: Billy Butler already a fan favorite
