When informed that no coaching staff in the majors had made more trips to the mound than theirs, Diamondbacks pitching coach Mike Butcher said he’s forging a new path, so to speak.
“There’s a runway from home plate to the pitcher’s mound,” Butcher said, referring to Chase Field’s distinctive strip of dirt, “so I thought I’d make one from the dugout to the mound, as well.”
Butcher, who has overseen what has been – statistically, at least – the worst staff in the majors, was resorting to gallows humor, but he turned intense when asked specifically about the performance of his pitchers.