BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : Another Possible Cause Given to Butler

Center fielder Brett Butler has been told that the Epstein-Barr virus, which causes chronic fatigue, rather than tobacco use, might have been the cause of his cancer. Butler said he had Epstein-Barr in 1989.

That link was made by a leading pathologist in Houston, Butler’s physician, Bob Gadlage, told Butler.

“They’ll never be able to pinpoint it exactly, but they believe this was the true cause,� Butler said Tuesday from his home in Atlanta. “I really think that could be it. I was run down and tired all [that] season. I tried vitamins, juices, and everything, and nothing worked.�

Butler’s cancer was diagnosed May 3, when he underwent a tonsillectomy, and there was speculation that it had been caused by his use of smokeless tobacco 15 years ago.

“It made me mad because I always tried to be a positive role model, but maybe it came out that way for a purpose and reason,� Butler said. “Maybe now, it will help stop tobacco use. Jeff Brantley [Cincinnati Reds] is a close friend, and now he’s stopping. Jay Bell [Pittsburgh Pirates] said he plans to stop. Maybe good can come out of all this.�

Butler said he felt his best since undergoing the tonsillectomy and will try to live as normally as possible this week, preparing for surgery Tuesday, when he will have a cancerous lymph node removed. He then will undergo six weeks of radiation therapy.

He has lost 6 1/2 pounds since his tonsillectomy but has resumed eating solid food and is optimistic he will recover and play again.

He also is encouraged that nothing irregular was discovered when he underwent a full physical in December. This gives doctors reason to believe that his cancer was caught in the early stages, he said. Gadlage told him that other than the lymph node that will be removed, there are no signs of cancer.

Although doctors have told him it’s unlikely he could return this season, Butler remembers beating the odds 10 years ago, when he was told that his career was over.

Butler was playing racquetball before the 1986 season with the Cleveland Indians when he was struck in his right eye, shattering his goggles and causing severe hemorrhaging.

“The doctors told me I probably couldn’t play baseball at all again, that I had only a 70% chance of getting my sight back,� Butler said. “Well, not only didn’t I have surgery, but my eyesight actually improved to 20-15.�

“To me, it was a modern-day miracle.�

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Second baseman Delino DeShields, who fouled a ball off his right foot Monday night, will be kept out of the lineup for a couple of days and be replaced by Chad Fonville. X-rays proved negative. . . . Reliever Jim Bruske was sent to triple-A Albuquerque to make room for Ramon Martinez. . . . Reliever Darren Hall, who underwent elbow surgery April 29, has regained all of the motion in his forearm and elbow and may resume throwing by July 1. . . . The Dodgers shuffled their lineup again, moving Todd Hollandsworth from seventh to second, and dropping Raul Mondesi from second to fifth.