BREAKING NEWS: Billy Butler is Not the Slowest Person in Baseball

May 5, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals batter Billy Butler (13) takes a break from running to second base. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

In a stunning turn of events that not even NASA could foresee, Billy Butler is not the slowest baseball player in Major League Baseball.

It’s scientifically proven by the good folks at Baseball Info Solutions are recording the average times of various baserunning events, including the times of players from the batter’s box to first base. Here is the order of the slowest people in baseball based on those time calculations:

Welington Castillo: 4.84

Billy Butler: 4.81

Paul Konerko: 4.77

Edwin Encarnacion: 4.67

Yorvit Torrealba: 4.67

BILLY BUTLER ISN’T THE SLOWEST PLAYER IN BASEBALL!!!

But who in the hell is Welington Castillo? Well, he’d be a catcher for the Chicago Cubs, which should help clear up the reasoning for why you’ve never heard of him. The 5-10, 210 pound catcher has two stolen bases this season with 6 home runs, a .737 OPS, and a 4.1 WAR. So why you didn’t know who he was is beyond me. (I didn’t know who he was. I’m a terrible baseball fan.)

Obviously, Billy is not employed for his speed. Butler is having a “down” season where he is batting .291/.378/.420 with a 118 OPS+ and is one of the, if not the, best hitter on the Royals. Speed really doesn’t matter in Butler’s game.

But, damn, he is slow. 4.81 seconds to run 30 yards? That translates in to a 40-yard dash time around 6.5 seconds. In comparison, 346-pound Dontari Poe ran a 4.98 second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine. Poe could be halfway to second base by the time Butler got to first base.

I doubt there is a speed-increase differential in baseball when Butler gets pinch-run for by Dyson. I’d like to find out what that number really is. Any guesses?