Julian Butler admitted he didn’t feel very well as he warmed up prior to Kearny’s game at McNair on Monday afternoon.
“I’m being honest. Before the game, I wasn’t feeling my best at all,” Butler said. “I normally do good when I’m not feeling better. If I feel too good, it’s not a good feeling.”
Butler might not have felt good before the game, but once it was underway, the Kardinals’ junior put together one of the finest all-around games in recent memory.
Butler went out and tossed a six-inning perfect game, striking out 12 in a 76-pitch masterpiece to become the first Kardinal to pitch a perfect game since Corey Sawyer in 2014. For good measure, Butler also went 3-for-4 at the plate with two runs and two RBI in Kearny’s 10-0 win.
Butler’s perfection, and then some, makes him The Observer Athlete of the Week.
Kearny head coach David Smart noticed something different about his ace pitcher/shortstop as well. What he noticed however, was a looser version of Butler.
“He was a little different. Usually Julian’s pretty quiet and just focused on his job. But (on Monday), it looked like he was having fun,” Smart said. “He just got out there and he wasn’t trying to overthrow. He wasn’t trying to overpower. He was just out there and really just pitching his game.
“Early in the game, nobody really put much thought into (a perfect game). I’d say around the fourth, fifth inning was when people started to look and go, ‘Wait a minute. Has anybody gotten a hit? Has anybody gotten on?’”
At 5-foot-10 and 135 pounds, Butler isn’t a hard thrower, but on Monday, he was spotting his fastball especially well, to go with his changeup and curveball.
“My fastball was hitting the spots that I needed to,” said Butler, who added that he knew it was his day after getting through the McNair order the first time. “That was my striking out pitch that day.”
“He wasn’t scared to start guys off with a curve ball or start them off with a changeup,” Smart said. “And then he was using that fastball really as his out pitch.”
As good as Butler was feeling, he and Kearny found them locked in a scoreless pitchers’ duel through three innings. The Kardinals scratched out two runs in the top of the fourth inning. Then, in the fifth, Kearny broke the game open by scoring five runs.
Butler singled home Kevin Kinsley to make it 3-0, then came around to score when, after taking an aggressive lead off of third base, Butler broke for home and caused a balk.
“When I got the third, I was timing the pitcher,” Butler said. “I was talking to the third bass coach, timing the pitcher’s wind up, and I stole home straight out of his windup, but he balked so I was safe regardless.”
Kearny added three more runs in the top of the sixth to make it 10-0, setting up a potential early, mercy rule finish, which came to pass when Butler mowed the side down in the bottom of the sixth.
“It’s been a while since we’ve had (someone have an all-around game like that) happen,” said Smart. “He had everything going that day. It’s rare. Sometimes you got it on the mound or sometimes you see the ball really well up at bat. He just seemed to have everything working.”
A three-year starter, Butler has been Kearny’s best pitcher since the start of last season when he pitched to a 2.73 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 51.1 innings. Despite an up-and-down first start against Hoboken, he now has 19 punch outs in 11 innings, while pitching to a 3.18 ERA.
This spring has seen Butler enjoy a breakout season at the plate as he is batting .429 (6-for-14) after hitting under .300 each of the prior two years. Butler also has drawn seven walks and has added six runs and six RBI.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)