Casey, Driessen, Reilly enter Reds Hall of Fame
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
CINCINNATI — With members of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in attendance, the Cincinnati Reds welcomed three new members to their exclusive club Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park as "The Mayor" Sean Casey, Dan Driessen and the late John Reilly entered the Reds' hallowed hall.
Driessen described entering the Reds' Hall of Fame as being honored, a dream and he's received a lot of well wishes. Casey, energetic as ever, said that playing in Cincinnati was eight of the greatest years of his life, and he was "humbled and honored to join an elite group of guys."
There were stories told of how once, late in the 2004 season after the Reds just defeated the Chicago Cubs earlier in the day, dashing the playoff hopes of the Cubs that season, Casey told the driver of the bus to stop as they were near a bar in Chicago.
Next, Casey said he jumped out of the bus, went into the bar … and from there proceeded to yell, "Hey, Cubs fans! … You just got your butt whipped by the Cincinnati Reds!"
Casey told the assembled media and family members in attendance, "I never was a fast guy, but for the next 20 or so yards, I was Carl Lewis."
The former Reds first baseman said Barry Larkin told him it was the greatest thing he'd seen in 19 years of baseball.
Reilly, nicknamed "Long John," who played for the Reds from 1880, 83-91, was represented by his great-great-great-great-nephew and his family. Reilly played in 1,142 games for the Redstockings.
As for Driessen, he said his favorite moment as a Cincinnati Red came during the 1976 World Series, where he finished with three hits in a game and the Reds swept the New York Yankees for the championship, as a part of the famed "Big Red Machine."
As for "The Mayor," Casey said when he joined the Reds in 1998 as part of a trade with the Cleveland Indians for Dave Burba, then the ace of the Cincinnati Reds' pitching staff, he said he was happy the Reds wanted him to be a part of the team.
"The Reds wanted me, and I owe a lot to Jack McKeon (then the manager of the Reds). He told me I was going to first base, and I was excited to have a chance as the Reds were in a rebuilding process.
"Looking back, I'm grateful it happened."
Driessen, on the other hand, was the man who replaced a legend as he took over first base for Tony Pérez, a Reds Hall of Fame inductee in 1998, though when Driessen found out he'd become a member of the Reds Hall of Fame, he was tough to find.
"I was stunned at first because when they called me, I was out deer hunting, so it took them three days to reach me," Driessen said. "Once I found out, I was excited at the same time, but I was still stunned.
"Coming up with the Reds, they had a winning tradition, and it took a lot of little things to make it complete. Taking over for Tony … there was some pressure .. but he's my friend."
Driessen told another story of how he was injured during a spring training with the Reds and got off to a slow start.
"I pulled my groin in the spring, and (after taking over for Tony) I was off to a slow start … and the fans sure let me know. But the Reds have a winning tradition through the years, and coming up, you expect to win."
Casey, as previously mentioned, said he loved his time in Cincinnati, and he knows the history of the franchise.
"When I think of the Reds, I think of the Big Red Machine and the great players who've been a part of this organization," Casey said. "I think of the fans and how this (Cincinnati) is a baseball city.
"Connecting with the fans was a big part of it because I wasn't a five-tool player."
Casey also spoke about his gift of talking at first base and how sometimes it wasn't received well when he was starting out.
"A couple guys didn't want to talk, but I wanted to because I could be out of here soon," Casey said with a laugh. "One time, Rickey Henderson made it to first, and I told him how I had his baseball cards … he looked at me and told me to 'shut up.'
"But Rickey is a great guy, and two seconds later, BAM … he was off to second base."
Then "The Mayor," just as if he was still playing at first base as he did in the late '90s and early 2000s, continued to talk about his career in Cincinnati.
"My first at bat here, the fans cheered my name … then I struck out, and I thought to myself, 'They won't be cheering for Casey anymore,'" he said. "I always felt like I was an extenuation of the fans. I felt connected to them."
There are currently 81 members of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.[[In-content Ad]]
Driessen described entering the Reds' Hall of Fame as being honored, a dream and he's received a lot of well wishes. Casey, energetic as ever, said that playing in Cincinnati was eight of the greatest years of his life, and he was "humbled and honored to join an elite group of guys."
There were stories told of how once, late in the 2004 season after the Reds just defeated the Chicago Cubs earlier in the day, dashing the playoff hopes of the Cubs that season, Casey told the driver of the bus to stop as they were near a bar in Chicago.
Next, Casey said he jumped out of the bus, went into the bar … and from there proceeded to yell, "Hey, Cubs fans! … You just got your butt whipped by the Cincinnati Reds!"
Casey told the assembled media and family members in attendance, "I never was a fast guy, but for the next 20 or so yards, I was Carl Lewis."
The former Reds first baseman said Barry Larkin told him it was the greatest thing he'd seen in 19 years of baseball.
Reilly, nicknamed "Long John," who played for the Reds from 1880, 83-91, was represented by his great-great-great-great-nephew and his family. Reilly played in 1,142 games for the Redstockings.
As for Driessen, he said his favorite moment as a Cincinnati Red came during the 1976 World Series, where he finished with three hits in a game and the Reds swept the New York Yankees for the championship, as a part of the famed "Big Red Machine."
As for "The Mayor," Casey said when he joined the Reds in 1998 as part of a trade with the Cleveland Indians for Dave Burba, then the ace of the Cincinnati Reds' pitching staff, he said he was happy the Reds wanted him to be a part of the team.
"The Reds wanted me, and I owe a lot to Jack McKeon (then the manager of the Reds). He told me I was going to first base, and I was excited to have a chance as the Reds were in a rebuilding process.
"Looking back, I'm grateful it happened."
Driessen, on the other hand, was the man who replaced a legend as he took over first base for Tony Pérez, a Reds Hall of Fame inductee in 1998, though when Driessen found out he'd become a member of the Reds Hall of Fame, he was tough to find.
"I was stunned at first because when they called me, I was out deer hunting, so it took them three days to reach me," Driessen said. "Once I found out, I was excited at the same time, but I was still stunned.
"Coming up with the Reds, they had a winning tradition, and it took a lot of little things to make it complete. Taking over for Tony … there was some pressure .. but he's my friend."
Driessen told another story of how he was injured during a spring training with the Reds and got off to a slow start.
"I pulled my groin in the spring, and (after taking over for Tony) I was off to a slow start … and the fans sure let me know. But the Reds have a winning tradition through the years, and coming up, you expect to win."
Casey, as previously mentioned, said he loved his time in Cincinnati, and he knows the history of the franchise.
"When I think of the Reds, I think of the Big Red Machine and the great players who've been a part of this organization," Casey said. "I think of the fans and how this (Cincinnati) is a baseball city.
"Connecting with the fans was a big part of it because I wasn't a five-tool player."
Casey also spoke about his gift of talking at first base and how sometimes it wasn't received well when he was starting out.
"A couple guys didn't want to talk, but I wanted to because I could be out of here soon," Casey said with a laugh. "One time, Rickey Henderson made it to first, and I told him how I had his baseball cards … he looked at me and told me to 'shut up.'
"But Rickey is a great guy, and two seconds later, BAM … he was off to second base."
Then "The Mayor," just as if he was still playing at first base as he did in the late '90s and early 2000s, continued to talk about his career in Cincinnati.
"My first at bat here, the fans cheered my name … then I struck out, and I thought to myself, 'They won't be cheering for Casey anymore,'" he said. "I always felt like I was an extenuation of the fans. I felt connected to them."
There are currently 81 members of the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.[[In-content Ad]]