Comparing All-Star centerfielders Brett Butler & Steve Finley

Former NL West rivals were great ballplayers that deserve some love

Steve Finley

Brett Butler

The names Brett Butler and Steve Finley have the same number of letters – five in the first name and six in the last name. I never got them confused but since both were left-handed hitting centerfielders who played more than 2,000 games, I thought of them in the same vein. Butler played 17 seasons, Finley 19. Both played most of their careers in the National League and hit for a decent batting average (Butler finished with a .290 career BA, Finley .271).

Butler and Finley have signature but different notable accomplishments, Butler with 550 stolen bases (25^th all-time). It’s not like Finley was slow as he had 320 career stolen bases himself. Despite their career totals, in the stolen base era of the 1980s and 1990s, neither ever led their league in steals. Butler’s career season high was 52 steals in 1984 (he also swiped 51 in 1990), Finley had a single season best 44 steals in 1992. That seems like a lot, and it’s not shabby, but in 1984 HOFer Tim Raines led the NL with 75 steals, and in 1990 Vince Coleman led with 77 steals.

One of them had good power

Finley had 304 home runs which is 10^th most in history for centerfielders playing 75% or more games at the position. Of the top 10 centerfielders with the most home runs, only Finley, Jim Edmonds, and Mike Trout aren’t HOFers. Trout’s time will come and when it comes to Edmonds’ exclusion, I can never figure out why he’s been set aside. Hopefully one day that will be rectified.

Butler had 54 career home runs never hitting more than nine in a single season. Power was definitively NOT his game.

Neither Butler nor Finley were Hall-of-Famers

But both fall into the ‘Almost’ category. They were talented, dedicated, and dynamic players who played a premium defensive position. Finley was the better defender, highlighted by his five Gold Gloves. Together they have one combined World Series title (Finley with the 2001 D’Backs) between them. Both hit just under .250 in postseason play so there’s not much juice there although Finley starred in the 2001 playoffs and World Series for WS winner Arizona.

Side by side their overall career numbers have similarities but you can immediately discern that they were different types of ballplayers. Between them they combined from just over 20,000 MLB plate appearances. Given Finley’s prowess for hitting home runs (overall and by comparison), it’s surprising that Butler has a higher career OPS+ (110 – 104) over Finley. This displays the value of getting on base meaning more than having a lower on-base average and hitting the ball out of the ballpark with frequency.

At 5’ 10” and 160 lbs. (probably soaking wet), Brett Butler came first, debuting with the Braves in 1981 while Finley’s (6”2” 175) rookie year was eight years later in 1989. Neither played a full campaign in their rookie season. But after that these guys showed up in the lineup every day with Butler playing in 129 games or more in 11 of his 17 seasons Finley playing in 139 games or more in 14 of his 19 seasons. Both led the National League in games played (Butler once, Finley twice). Butler was a bit unsung as he only made one All-Star team (1990 as a Dodger) but received MVP votes in six seasons). Finley was a two-time All-Star although he received MVP votes only once (1996 with the Padres).

While Finley was the home run dominator between he and Butler, both were great at hitting triples. Butler led the NL three times and the AL once in three-baggers and he totaled 131 for his career. Finley led the NL twice and finished with 124 triples. Both are in the top 100 in MLB history for triples. It’s not like Finley was slow as he had 320 career stolen bases himself. When it comes to JAWS, which measures a players seven-year peak (thanks Jay Jaffe), Butler is 30^th all-time for CFs (right behind Andrew McCutheon and Bernie Williams), and Finley is 42^nd behind HOFer Edd Roush, who has one of the weaker cases for an existing HOFer.

So, who was better?

I always preferred Steve Finley when I thought of these two players together. And I did think about them together as they were playing contemporaries from 1989 to 1997, and both played most their careers in the NL West –Butler with 13 seasons including three in Atlanta which was in the NL West at the time. Finley played 15 seasons for NL West teams. But after doing the research I am not at all certain who was better. As top of the lineup left-handed centerfielders, you couldn’t go wrong with either!

About the Author: Mark Kolier along with his son Gordon co-hosts a baseball podcast called ‘Almost Cooperstown’. He also has written baseball-related articles that can be accessed on Medium.com and Substack.com.