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Billy Butter had career lows in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage this season, but still came up with two big hits on Tuesday, including this RBI single in the sixth.Denny Medley

Billy Butler did not have much spare time on a Sunday morning during spring training in Surprise, Ariz. The Daytona 500 was being held that day, and Butler was busy matching players with drivers for the Kansas City Royals' clubhouse pool.

It was a natural role for Butler, a team elder from Orange Park, Fla., who goes by the nickname Country Breakfast and, presumably, would be more comfortable in the infield of a racetrack than he would be at most infield spots in baseball. But he found a moment to assess the chances of the 2014 Royals.

Butler mentioned the team's strong finish last year and the veterans who had joined the team in the off-season. He sounded confident.

"I think we've developed that winning mentality," Butler said. "Guys in here are expecting to win, not just trying to win."

That expectation became reality in a way few thought possible. The Royals went undefeated through the American League playoffs, winning the pennant with eight consecutive victories. After losing the World Series opener to the San Francisco Giants, they evened things Wednesday with a 7-2 win in Game 2.

Game 3 is Friday night in San Francisco.

Butler tied Wednesday night's game with a first-inning single, then drove in the go-ahead run with a single off Jean Machi in the sixth. The latter hit earned a curtain call when the lumbering Butler was removed.

"When your teammates tell you to do it, you're going to get out there," Butler said. "And the fans received me well. It was an exciting time."

A curtain call for a sixth-inning single might seem a little much, but who could begrudge the fans their enthusiasm? The Royals went 29 years since their previous postseason appearance, which was the longest active drought in the major North American sports, and Butler endured a lot of it.

Butler was the 14th overall pick in 2004 and has been among the more productive Royals ever. Butler's .295 career average trails only George Brett and Mike Sweeney among Royals with at least 2,000 at-bats.

"It's really important for the fans to identify with a guy and fall in love with a guy like Billy," outfielder Raul Ibanez said after Game 2. "He's a fun-loving guy and he's a professional hitter, and he loves being in Kansas City. He loves being a Royal. He had been waiting a long time for this."

Ibanez, 42, spent the summer with the Royals as he winds down a solid career. He played three seasons in Kansas City, from 2001 to 2003, after several with a Seattle team that had not given him an everyday shot. He established himself with the Royals and left for free-agent riches elsewhere.

That has long been the pattern for Kansas City, and it is likely to continue despite this season's franchise-high payroll of $92-million (U.S.). The Royals are widely expected to let James Shields, their No. 1 starter, leave as a free agent, and Butler may go, too.

If he does, it will not be his choice. Butler signed a four-year, $30-million contract extension in January, 2011. The Royals could exercise a 2015 club option for $12.5-million.

That would be the second-highest salary on the team and might be more than the Royals want to pay after Butler's worst full season. He hit only nine homers and drove in 66 runs, and his batting average (.271), on-base percentage (.323) and slugging percentage (.379) were career lows.

"This team is counting on me to do my job, and that's in the middle of the lineup and being an impact bat," Butler said. "Things like that will work out after the World Series."

Butler was hitless in the division series, but otherwise has hit .375 (9 for 24) and been treated as a threat by opposing managers.

The Royals could always use Butler's power, if he can find it, but his skills do not go with the game they tend to play. He has one stolen base in the past two seasons and he has never executed a sacrifice bunt. He brings no value for speed and defence, the tools the Royals most covet.

Butler, then, is something of a misfit on the roster. Yet it is hard to imagine the Royals without him.

"He's woven into the fabric of the team," Ibanez said. "Guys enjoy having him around."

With free agency possibly looming, Butler may not be around much longer. But before he goes, he can help write an ending that few besides him could have imagined.

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