J.D. encouraged a 12-year-old Billy Butler to at least finish out the season for his teammates.
"Then," he told him, "you can do whatever you want to do. We'll basket weave or something."
"I just was one of those guys who believed idle minds bring about bad things," J.D. said. "He wasn't just going to come home and hang out, he was going to do something. The next day we got to the park, and he goes, 'Never mind dad, I love this game. Let's just keep playing.'"
Billy is now in the middle of his ninth big league season and first with the A's following eight years in Kansas City.