Butler finally set to play long-awaited first MLB game in hometown

Atlanta is more than just a hometown for Lawrence Butler. It’s the city he moved to with his family one year after he was born that molded his love for baseball. It’s where the Athletics outfielder goes back to every offseason. And when he retires from the sport one day, it’s where he plans to continue living so he can keep giving back to the community through his L4W Foundation.

“It’s pretty much all I know,” Butler told MLB.com. “I’ve been there my whole life.”

Even when Butler is away from home, Atlanta is always with him -- literally. The Atlanta Braves' red ‘A’ logo is tattooed on his body. Every time he crosses home plate after hitting a home run, he raises four fingers in the air as an homage to the Sandtown neighborhood in Southwest Atlanta where he grew up, referred to as Zone 4, which is also tatted across his right forearm.

“It always reminds me where I come from and where I’ve made it from,” Butler said in August 2023 after his first big league home run. “I’ll always throw up the fours.”

This week, the Athletics are playing a three-game road series against the Braves, which means Butler is returning to play his first Major League games at Truist Park. Back to the stadium he frequented as a teenager and where he admired Freddie Freeman from afar. Before that, he was a regular at old Turner Field, where he looked up to Jason Heyward, Chipper Jones and Andruw Jones.

Back in those days, Butler often fantasized about taking that same field as his baseball idols. It was supposed to happen in late May/early June 2024 when the A’s played a series in Atlanta, but Butler was optioned to Triple-A a couple of weeks before the trip. Last year, Butler fell short of his goal of earning a selection to the All-Star Game that was played at Truist Park, though he did still attend it as a fan.

Now, finally, Butler has come full circle.

“It means a lot,” said Butler, who anticipates the number of friends and family members coming out to support him during this series to be in the 100s. “When I was younger, it was Turner Field where I had a lot of memories. I’ve also had a lot of great memories at Truist. … The place that you’re from and the park that you grew up watching big league games in, to finally be a big leaguer and play in it, it’s special.”

One of those Truist memories actually came the year he debuted as a big leaguer in 2023. Returning home for the offseason, Butler attended Game 2 of the NLDS between the Braves and Phillies, and he lost his mind as he sat just behind the visiting dugout and watched Braves center fielder and childhood best friend Michael Harris II end the game with an incredible catch at the wall and throw back to the infield to double up Bryce Harper.

While Butler and Harris are close, the two love to engage in friendly competition against each other. It dates back to their travel ball days, when Butler’s Sandtown Blue Jays and Harris’ Gresham GA Yard Dogs consistently met in big matchups, and continues every offseason to this day when the two train together at former Braves outfielder Marquis Grissom’s facility in Georgia.

“It’ll be a pretty cool moment to see him out in center field running around,” Butler said of Harris. “Hopefully, I rob him and he doesn’t take any hits away from me.”

The two have played a series against each other once last season at Sutter Health Park. Sharing the same field in Atlanta, however, will have an even deeper meaning, especially for those young aspiring ballplayers who will show up and visualize the same dreams Butler and Harris dreamed in those same seats.

“For the kids growing up in Atlanta, to watch us two kids from Atlanta playing on the biggest stage, it’ll mean a lot for them,” Butler said. “Being able to see two Black kids from Atlanta playing on the big league stage, I feel like it’ll mean more to them than it will to us.”

At long last, Butler’s big league journey has taken him back to "The A."