DATE: Monday, May 26, 1997                  TAG: 9705260152

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ROBIN BRINKLEY, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   74 lines

FOR FC'S BUTLER, SWITCH TO BASEBALL'S BEEN A BLAST EX-HOCKEY PLAYER HAS HIT A SCHOOL-RECORD 18 HRS IN 2 SEASONS, 11 THIS SPRING.

First Colonial's Jeff Butler prefers to think of himself as a run producer and not a home run hitter.

Pardon opposing pitchers if they can't tell the difference.

Butler's 11 home runs this spring and 18 over the past two seasons are school records.

With apologies to Roger Maris, there probably should be an asterisk beside both marks since there were few outfield fences when slugging first baseman Trey McCoy played for First Colonial. But that doesn't detract from Butler's achievements.

McCoy went on to become a college All-American and enjoyed a productive minor league career. Butler, a senior centerfielder, should have the same opportunities.

First Colonial coach Norbie Wilson expects Butler to be taken in the June 6-8 Major League Draft. Butler's other option is junior college - he's a nonqualifier - and he's looking at three of those.

That's an amazing turn of events for someone who committed to baseball only two years ago. Butler spent his first two years in high school as a left winger on a checking line for the Junior Admirals hockey team.

``It cost $1,200 a year to play hockey and I wanted a car,'' Butler said. ``That's when baseball took over.''

And when Butler took over baseball.

His first six hits as a junior were home runs, including a 2-run shot off Cox's Jason Dubois and a bases-empty blast against Tim Lavigne in a 4-3 10-inning victory over the Falcons. That was the only game Cox lost en route to the state championship.

Butler was an All-Tidewater pick last year, but it was an awesome performance in last summer's Commonwealth Games that cemented his reputation as a power hitter.

Butler slugged six home runs, including two grand slams, in four games to lead an East squad that featured Mike Cuddyer, John Curtice, Cory Bauswell and Dubois, to the championship.

``Jeff went up tension-free in front of 50 scouts and 300-400 people and just mashed everything,'' Wilson said.

At 6-foot and 180 pounds, Butler doesn't cast a huge shadow in the batter's box, but he's about the same size as Mickey Mantle when he came to the majors.

No one is comparing the two centerfielders as prospects. Mantle generated terrific bat speed - from both sides of the plate - to hit 536 major league home runs.

Bat speed is Butler's signature, too, and he gets it from lifting weights.

``Baseball is now a weightlifting sport,'' Wilson said, ``and Jeff lifts constantly. He's as strong as anyone around.''

Taking the Mantle comparison one step further, Wilson thinks Butler could be a switch-hitter.

``In the Commonwealth tryouts at ODU last year Jeff hit two home runs righthanded and then turned around and hit a shot over the right field wall,'' Wilson said.

Butler hasn't gone more than four games without hitting a home run this spring, and during one stretch he homered in four consecutive at bats - a game-winner against Tallwood and then three against Bayside.

Still Butler shuns the label of home run hitter, in part because it's too limiting. During the regular season he was second on the team in batting at

Butler credits his teammates for much of his success. Steve Tyler and Parker Friske, who bat ahead of him, are batting .507 and .429 respectively. Bruce George and Dorman Miner, who hit behind him, have combined for 9 home runs and 52 RBIs.

``We're all pretty competitive,'' Butler said. ``And we all hit better when he don't try for home runs.''

Spoken like a true run producer. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by L. TODD SPENCER

Jeff Butler's first six hits as a First Colonial junior in 1996 were

home runs. During one stretch this season, he homered in four

consecutive at-bats.

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