Blake Butera was born to be a baseball guy. His father, Barry, hit .329 for Tulane in the late 1970s and advanced to Triple A to play for the Pawtucket Red Sox, and his brother, also named Barry, lead Boston College to the 2009 NCAA Tournament before being drafted by Houston in that year's MLB Amateur Entry Draft. What he knew about the game prior to his commitment to follow his brother to Chestnut Hill probably dwarfed anyone else his age.
So it's no surprise how he's carved a path right into professional baseball. What might surprise people, however, is that he didn't do it as a player.