Billy Butler gave Josh Reddick an X-Box for his uniform number
When free agent Billy Butler made the jump from the Kansas City Royals to the Oakland A’s this winter — signing a three-year, $30 million deal — he wondered the same thing all players wonder when changing teams: Who has my uniform number, and how can I get it?
As he quickly realized, his No. 16 belonged to outfielder Josh Reddick, which he figured could be a problem. Though baseball tradition dictates the player with more service time has first dibs — Butler has a little more than seven years compared to Reddick’s four years — Butler understood the respect Reddick has in the A’s clubhouse and the popularity he enjoys with A’s fans. In fact, Reddick’s No. 16 jersey can be spotted frequently at A’s games, and it would be difficult to expect him to simply part with that number.
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It turns out Butler underestimated Reddick. Soon after his deal was official, Reddick reached out to offer his number and the two quickly reached a deal.
Originally, the payment was believed to a winch, at least based on a Twitter exchange between the two players.
As the Stew’s Mike Oz pointed out at the time, you can find those on Amazon for $940, but the price can go as high as $1,356, which is pretty steep. Here’s where this gets confusing though. John Hickey of the San Jose Mercury News reported on Monday that an X-Box was included in the exchange as well.
For Reddick, giving up 16 wasn’t a major hardship, particularly since he got a new X-Box from Butler out of it as a token of appreciation. The right fielder was given 68 as a rookie in Boston in 2009, then had two numbers, 46 and 39, in 2010. Boston gave him 16 in his final year before trading him to Oakland.
So was it a winch, X-Box or both? That is the question.
If it’s both, then this would an overpay on Butler’s part. X-Box prices can range anywhere from $400 to $600, and that simply wouldn’t be necessary if he already dropped at least $900 on a winch. In fact, it would fall more in line with the required payment when a young player asks a veteran for a uniform number. Under those circumstances, it’s often resolved with a Rolex or something of greater significance as a nod to the veteran’s tenure.
If it’s just an X-Box, that’s more in line of what would be reasonably expected.
If it’s a winch, then where did the X-Box talk come from?
We need answers!
Well, actually, we could probably survive without them. But we’re curious now, if for no other reason than to see how much the uniform number really means to Butler.
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In the aforementioned article, Butler says it’s the number he wore from his Little League days straight though his time in the Kansas City Royals minor league system. The only interruption came during his rookie season with the Royals when veteran Reggie Sanders had the number. At the time, Butler wasn’t comfortable even approaching Sanders about a number exchange, so he wore the No. 21. When Sanders departed the next season, that’s when he finally asked and received.
So yes, there’s obviously some meaning to Butler, but anything beyond the X-Box would be quite generous.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
