Cancer, stroke mellow Reno manager

Surviving a stroke and two battles with cancer has given Reno Aces manager Brett Butler plenty of perspective on life and professional baseball.

"Ever since I had cancer the first time, that changes your perspective. Little things don't bother me anymore that used to bother me, little nitpicking stuff," Butler said Friday before Reno's 3-1 victory over the 51s at Cashman Field.

"When I was laying in bed thinking I was dying, I wasn't concerned with how rich or famous I was. I was concerned about my relationship with God and my family and friends, and what kind of impact I've left in this world."

A former National League All-Star who batted .290 in a 17-year major league career that ended in 1997, Butler overcame throat cancer during the 1996 season and prostate cancer five years ago.

He also suffered a minor stroke in July 2007 that was related to his throat cancer.

"When I had throat cancer, they cut my throat open and took out 15 lymph nodes, and I went through 32 rounds of radiation," said Butler, 52. "It was 12 years later that scar tissue from there kind of popped my carotid artery.

"It affected my balance for two or three months and kind of set me back a little bit, but we're fine now and back on the field managing."

Butler, who hopes to be a major league manager, was the skipper for Double-A Mobile (Ala.) when he suffered the stroke. The Arizona Diamondbacks restricted him from managing the rest of that season and last year, when he worked as a roving minor league outfield and base-running coordinator.

One of baseball's top leadoff hitters as a player with the Braves, Indians, Giants and Dodgers, Butler appears fit and is near his playing weight of 160 pounds. But he said he's still not completely healthy.

"I'm not 100 percent, but I'm OK," he said. "My balance is probably 95 to 98 percent.

"Some days I feel run down, but I'm not sure if that's the stroke or that's being 52."

Married with four children, Butler said his religious faith has been crucial to overcoming his health problems.

"I depend on Him because I think in flesh we're weak and in spirit we're strong," he said. "That's really how I've dealt with it all these years."

Long before his cancer and stroke, Butler also survived the earthquake that struck the Bay Area minutes before Game 3 of the 1989 World Series. As a member of the Giants, Butler was on the field running sprints at Candlestick Park when the earthquake hit.

"It was just like a train came through the place. Everything started to pound. ... It was almost like a wave that kind of went through the stadium," he said.

"It's something I'll never forget. It puts it in perspective that baseball's just a game. It's all about life and family."

• NOTES -- A sellout crowd of 9,973 attended Friday's game, bringing the two-day total at Cashman Field to 19,187.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.