LEAGUE PLAYER MAKES BIG IMPACT IN FIRST INTERNATIONAL TOURNEY

Feb. 1, 2020

Darryl Butler with a player from the Domincan Republic

By Jim Goff

When Darryl Butler started playing senior softball two years ago, he competed mostly in his native Pittsburgh area, and like most softballers, had never played outside the United States  and Canada. 

So, when a couple of his buddies convinced him to come with them to the Dominican Republic to play in his first SSUSA tournament, the inaugural Caribbean Classic this past January, he wasn’t sure what to expect.

Because of family and work obligations, the 58-year-old had not even registered as an SSUSA player until recently.

“On the first day of the tournament when the Dominican teams showed up and we saw how young they were compared to us,” explained Butler’s friend and TeamUSA teammate Bill Hensler, “some of us thought we would be leaving with the imprint of their shoes on our rear ends.”

Enter Butler.

In five Caribbean Classic tournament games played in a double round-robin format, the muscular righty hit five homers including a grand slam, batted .875, and knocked in 22 runs.  Those numbers made him the consensus impact player for the Americans, leading TeamUSA to a close 1^st-place finish and the Gold plaque against the two Dominican teams.

“We had a great time,” the humble Butler chuckled. “My wife even asked if we were going to need the USA uniform again, because she was thinking of having it framed and put into our game room.”