Sean Casey is 'the' Cincinnati Reds
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Politically, Mark Mallory is the mayor of Cincinnati, but any sports fan in the Queen City knows who was for seven seasons and always will be the true "mayor" of Cincinnati, and this Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park, everyone in attendance will be sure to let the baseball circles know who the real "mayor" of Cincinnati is.
The real mayor of Cincinnati is Sean Casey.
Casey, along with Dan Driessen (a member of the Big Red Machine) and John Reilly (who played for the Reds from 1880-91), will become the newest members inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
I'm picking Casey to write about because I grew up watching 'the mayor' play a kids' game at the professional level … with the enthusiasm of a kid, and that's something that really stays with me to this day, not to mention that's how baseball should be played.
From his unique pre-pitch ritual in the batter's box (gotta love that leg kick and gum chomping) to his constant conversations at first base (I always wondered what he was saying to those who reached first base) to his childlike enthusiasm at the ball park (he made baseball fun, though he played on a lot of bad teams) … it was easy to feel the excitement Casey … no, correction … the "Mighty Casey" brought to the plate each time he took the field for the Reds.
In preparation of this column, I found some old scorecards I filled out in 2004 while sitting in the stands of Great American Ball Park, one game being on April 8, 2004 against the Chicago Cubs, where "the mayor" went 3-for-4 with a double, two singles and three RBIs in a 5-3 win for the home team.
In another game on April 20, 2004, Casey went 3-for-4, again (according to my pristine scorecard) with one RBI, two doubles and one single in a 3-2 Reds win over the Atlanta Braves.
Those games were great, but the game I remember the most by Casey came in 2006 when he returned to GABP for the first time as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The date was April 7, 2006, and in his return to the park he helped build, he hit a home run in his third at bat of the game (the sixth inning), but it was the Reds who won the rain-delayed game, 7-6.
Still in that game, Casey showed class as he tipped his cap to us in the crowd (there weren't many left in the stands with all the rain that night, including a late start), and that image of Sean Casey stands with me the most … class.
Want to know the strangest part of the date April 7, 2006?
That happened to not only be Casey's first game back against the Reds as a Pirate, but it happened to be the same day Brandon Phillips was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Reds.
Talk about a strange occurrence.
While playing for the Reds, Casey was the most fan-friendly player of his era and on his return to play the first time against the Reds, it happened to be the exact day Phillips (who is now the most fan-friendly player of his day) is traded to the former team of Casey, eventually filling the void left by Casey when he was traded for Dave Williams. (I didn't even mention Casey originally was traded by the Indians, too, whom he played six games for in 1997.)
Sometimes baseball can work in strange ways.
As for Casey … it's a well-deserved honor for him to be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame because people of my generation, who grew up watching Casey play at Cinergy Field and GABP, should remember the way he played the game.
Casey made watching baseball fun. He made visiting GABP enjoyable whenever he was playing the game, and I think it's safe to say when people from my generation think of the Cincinnati Reds … Sean Casey comes to mind first … or at least he should.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]
The real mayor of Cincinnati is Sean Casey.
Casey, along with Dan Driessen (a member of the Big Red Machine) and John Reilly (who played for the Reds from 1880-91), will become the newest members inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
I'm picking Casey to write about because I grew up watching 'the mayor' play a kids' game at the professional level … with the enthusiasm of a kid, and that's something that really stays with me to this day, not to mention that's how baseball should be played.
From his unique pre-pitch ritual in the batter's box (gotta love that leg kick and gum chomping) to his constant conversations at first base (I always wondered what he was saying to those who reached first base) to his childlike enthusiasm at the ball park (he made baseball fun, though he played on a lot of bad teams) … it was easy to feel the excitement Casey … no, correction … the "Mighty Casey" brought to the plate each time he took the field for the Reds.
In preparation of this column, I found some old scorecards I filled out in 2004 while sitting in the stands of Great American Ball Park, one game being on April 8, 2004 against the Chicago Cubs, where "the mayor" went 3-for-4 with a double, two singles and three RBIs in a 5-3 win for the home team.
In another game on April 20, 2004, Casey went 3-for-4, again (according to my pristine scorecard) with one RBI, two doubles and one single in a 3-2 Reds win over the Atlanta Braves.
Those games were great, but the game I remember the most by Casey came in 2006 when he returned to GABP for the first time as a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The date was April 7, 2006, and in his return to the park he helped build, he hit a home run in his third at bat of the game (the sixth inning), but it was the Reds who won the rain-delayed game, 7-6.
Still in that game, Casey showed class as he tipped his cap to us in the crowd (there weren't many left in the stands with all the rain that night, including a late start), and that image of Sean Casey stands with me the most … class.
Want to know the strangest part of the date April 7, 2006?
That happened to not only be Casey's first game back against the Reds as a Pirate, but it happened to be the same day Brandon Phillips was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Reds.
Talk about a strange occurrence.
While playing for the Reds, Casey was the most fan-friendly player of his era and on his return to play the first time against the Reds, it happened to be the exact day Phillips (who is now the most fan-friendly player of his day) is traded to the former team of Casey, eventually filling the void left by Casey when he was traded for Dave Williams. (I didn't even mention Casey originally was traded by the Indians, too, whom he played six games for in 1997.)
Sometimes baseball can work in strange ways.
As for Casey … it's a well-deserved honor for him to be inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame because people of my generation, who grew up watching Casey play at Cinergy Field and GABP, should remember the way he played the game.
Casey made watching baseball fun. He made visiting GABP enjoyable whenever he was playing the game, and I think it's safe to say when people from my generation think of the Cincinnati Reds … Sean Casey comes to mind first … or at least he should.
Stephen Forsha is the sports editor of The Highland County Press.[[In-content Ad]]