Mike Butcher

Michael Dana Butcher

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.
• School Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
• High School United Township High School
• Debut July 6, 1992
• Final Game September 5, 1995
• Born May 10, 1965 in Davenport, IA USA

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Biographical Information

Mike Butcher was signed by the Kansas City Royals and scout Carl Blando as a 2nd round pick in the 1986 amateur draft. He made 115 appearances over four seasons (1992 to 1995) with the California Angels. In 137 innings, he posted an 11-4, 4.37 record with 9 saves. Butcher pitched in the minor leagues in 1996 & 1998 before finishing his playing career in Mexico with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes in 1999.

Butcher moved into coaching the following year. He was the pitching coach for the Butte Copper Kings in 2000, Arkansas Travelers in 2001, and Salt Lake Stingers in 2002. Butcher was the Anaheim Angels' roving pitching instructor from 2003 to 2005. After the 2003 season he served as the pitching coach for the Scottsdale Scorpions in the Arizona Fall League.

In 2006 Butcher reached the major leagues again as a pitching coach for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He only stayed with the Devil Rays one season before returning to the Angels organization. Butcher became pitching coach of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, replacing Bud Black. As spring training opened in 2011, he underwent emergency surgery to remove a cancerous nodule on his thyroid gland; the cancer was detected early and he made a full recovery without missing significant time. Butcher stayed on as Angels' pitching coach until the end of the 2015 season. During his tenure with Los Angeles, the Angels ranked second in the American League in quality starts (796) and wins (807), tied for second in complete games (58), finished third in ERA (4.00) and shutouts (105), and fifth in opponent batting average (.255). His starting pitchers also led the AL during that span with 590 victories, while his relievers tied for first with 409 saves. The pitching success continued after Butcher became the Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach in 2016. In 2017, Arizona finished in the Top 2 in the National League in both ERA (3.66) and strikeouts (1,482) for the third time in club history (also: 1999 & 2001). The strikeouts were 164 more than its previous record (1,318 in 2016). In addition, for the first time in team history, the D-backs surrendered the fewest home runs (171) in the League.[1] Butcher remained the Diamondbacks pitching coach through the 2019 season.

Starting in 2020, Butcher has worked mostly in private business. His only baseball related job was as a consultant to Baseball Operations for the Angels in Fall, 2021. In 2022 Butcher became a restaurant owner with the moniker "The Pizza Butcher."[2]