Brian Butterfield was known for his acute sense of humor when he was a coach in the New York Yankees' organization, and for his exceptional timing. The late George Steinbrenner was something of a neat freak, and he once excoriated the coaches after spotting a piece of paper on a field, ordering them to be wary of trash. The next day, Butterfield stepped onto the grass with garbage bags attached to every limb, just in case.
But Butterfield, now the third base coach of the Boston Red Sox, is also very serious about his work, such that he is sometimes already leaning on his fungo bat when the notoriously early-arriving Dustin Pedroia steps onto the field for his version of a siesta: ground balls at 2:30 p.