I thought it was too bad to see this short report By MLB.Com’s Steve Gilbert on former Indian Sean Casey. I always loved the Big Guy.
‘The Mayor’ hit .302 in 12 seasons with five different clubs
By Steve Gilbert / MLB.com
Red Sox first baseman Sean Casey is officially retiring, according to a report by WEEI Radio in Boston.
The report said Casey, nicknamed “The Mayor” for his friendly personality, has signed on with the MLB Network for role that has not been defined yet.
Casey, 34, hit .322 in 199 at-bats for the Red Sox last season. He also played in Detroit, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, but spent eight of his 12 big league seasons with the Reds.
A three-time All-Star, Casey had a .302 career average with 130 homers and 735 RBIs.
The MLB Network launched on Jan. 1 in approximately 50 million homes, the largest network debut in cable history. Casey would join former Major Leaguers Harold Reynolds, Al Leiter, Barry Larkin, Joe Magrane, Mitch Williams and Dan Plesac to offer insight on the Network.
By the way, I wish everyone would quit wasting time worrying about Manny Ramirez. There never was a slight chance he’d come back to Cleveland for several reasons – the biggest being money. It’s a waste of time to debate it.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Yep, count me as ‘sad’ too – what a good guy. Hope they pair him up with Barry Larkin, that should be a no-brainer.
I was really ticked when the Indians traded Sean Casey for Dave Burba in 1998. Turns out, though, that it wasn’t as bad a trade as I figured it for then. Burba did win nearly 60 games with the Tribe, 20 or so more than he lost. His ERA was never great but, like Jake Westbrook today, he kept his team in the game, through grittiness. I wasn’t a Burba guy, but that trade taught me a lesson as a fan: sometimes the guys who do this for a living and live within a budget actually know what they’re doing. John Hart knew what he was doing, almost all the time (there, Tonto — I’m conceding).
I always liked Sean Casey, though, in retrospect, it turns out it was more for the personality and positve impact he brought to the game than for his bat, which — while at .302 lifetime good for contact — lacked the power you want at first base. I always cheered Casey, and I’m glad his love of the game will live on with MLB Network.
Let it be known that all the kind words said about him as a man over the years only scratch the surface. He is that good a person.
I too balked the day the Burba-Casey trade was made. Thought Hart had lost his mind. Yea, they were deep at 1B but Sexson had never really impressed me as a big time player.
As a minor league player Casey looked to me like a guy who would put up Steve Garvey like numbers, but of course the consistent long ball bat never materialized. None the less, a quality player….like Burba, maybe not the best guy for your rotisserie or Stratomatic team, but a winner, the epitome of solid, on the field and in the clubhouse. Fans and the media tend to overstate what they perceive as negative people (Manny, Belle), and under rate some of the positive influences (Casey, and believe it or not…Manny, Belle…it’s about the work that is done before the game starts).
As far as Manny coming back to Cleveland….no, not a possibility but gee whiz, I don’t see the value in bad mouthing a hall of famer who once played here.
Finally, for my good friend terrier….if I may paraphrase….as the late great Bobby Darin once sang, you’re beginning to see the light.