Sean Casey

Infobox MLB player
name = Sean Casey

---

width = 300
caption = Casey, signing autographs, with the Red Sox in 2008
position = First baseman
team = Boston Red Sox
number = 22
bats = Left
throws = Right
birthdate = birth date and age|1974|7|2
birthplace = city-state|Willingboro Township|New Jersey
debutdate = September 12
debutyear = 1997
debutteam = Cleveland Indians
statyear = 2008
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .302
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 130
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 735
teams =
*Cleveland Indians (by|1997)
*Cincinnati Reds (by|1998–by|2005)
*Pittsburgh Pirates (by|2006)
*Detroit Tigers (by|2006–by|2007)
*Boston Red Sox (by|2008–present)
awards =
*3x All-Star selection (by|1999, by|2001, by|2004)

Sean Thomas Casey (born July 2, 1974 in Willingboro Township, New Jersey [Stringer, Matt. [http://media.www.temple-news.com/media/storage/paper143/news/2003/11/20/Features/Philadelphia.The.Cradle.Of.Baseball-564047.shtml?sourcedomain=www.temple-news.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com "Philadelphia: The cradle of baseball"] , "The Temple News", November 20, 2003. Accessed December 3, 2007. "For example, Sean Casey, a lifetime .300 hitter, plays first base for the Cincinnati Reds and hails from Willingboro, NJ."] ), nicknamed "the Mayor," is a first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox.

Baseball career

Casey attended Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Richmond, where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. His .461 batting average in 1995 led all Division I players [cite web
title = University of Richmond Athletic Hall Of Fame
publisher = University of Richmond
url = http://richmondspiders.cstv.com/hallfame/rich-hallfame.html#seancase
accessdate = 2008-04-09] , he was drafted in by|1995 in the 2nd round by the Cleveland Indians and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds before the by|1998 season. Casey had his best year in by|1999 hitting .332 with 25 HRs and 99 RBIs and 103 runs scored in 151 games. In 1999, he won the Hutch Award.

During his tenure in Cincinnati, and later in Detroit, Sean Casey was regarded as approachable and friendly, and his nickname, "the Mayor", comes from his reputation for chatting casually with every runner who makes it to first base, and from his very public charity work. It was frequently expanded to "the Mayor of Riverfront" when the Reds played at Riverfront Stadium. On May 16, 2007, Casey was voted in 2007 as "the friendliest player in baseball" by fellow players in a Sports Illustrated poll. [cite web
title = SI Players Poll: Friendliest/Unfriendliest MLB Player?
publisher = Sports Illustrated
date = 2007-05-16
url = http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/05/16/0521poll/index.html
accessdate = 2008-04-09] He garnered 46% of the vote with the second place player Jim Thome getting only 7%. Casey is also regarded as among the slowest-running players in the game, grounding into 27 double plays in the by|2005 season. This tied him with A.J. Pierzynski for the record of most Grounding in Double Plays by a National League Left Hander in a season. [cite web
title = Grounding into Double Plays Records
publisher = Baseball Almanac
url = http://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_gidp.shtml
accessdate = 2008-04-09]

Sean Casey was signed to the Reds through the by|2006 season. However, he was traded December 6, 2005 to his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates for left-handed pitcher Dave Williams. During an injury plagued 2006 season, Casey hit .296 with three home runs and 29 RBI in 59 games for the Pirates. On July 31, 2006, Casey was traded to the Detroit Tigers for minor league pitcher Brian Rogers. During the 2006 American League Championship Series against the Oakland Athletics he partially tore his left calf muscle in Game 1 [cite web |url= http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20061011&content_id=1708998&vkey=ps2006news&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb|title= Casey expected to miss rest of ALCS|accessdate=2008-04-11 ] . After coming back from his torn calf in Game 2 of the World Series, he became the hottest hitter for the Tigers, belting 2 home runs and batting in five games. His .432 batting average was one of the best in Tigers postseason history. [cite web |url= http://static.record-eagle.com/2006/nov/17casey.htm|title=Tigers re-sign 1B Casey |accessdate=2008-04-11 |author=Jeff Peek |date=2006-11-17]

Casey has made the sports news for his charitable work almost as often as his fieldwork. He has been active in Big Brothers and Make-A-Wish Foundation, as well as the "Casey's Crew" program, where he provided free high-priced tickets to disadvantaged youth. [cite web
last = Castrovince
first = Anthony
title = Notes: Defense taking center stage
publisher = MLB.com
date = 2005-04-15
url = http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050415&content_id=1016648&vkey=news_cin&fext=.jsp&c_id=cin
accessdate = 2008-04-09] Casey credits his Christian upbringing, in Pittsburgh's affluent Upper St. Clair suburb, for his generosity. [ [http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05342/619053.stm Casey as good off the field as he is on it ] ]

Casey is, in fact, a lifelong Catholic and is featured in the film series "Champions of Faith" which shows how faith shapes Major Leaguers. [cite web
title = Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition (2007) (V)
url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1017429/
accessdate = 2008-04-09] He is actively involved with the [http://www.catholicathletesforchrist.org Catholic Athletes for Christ] . [cite web
last = Dowd
first = David E.
title = The Importance of A Good Playbook
publisher = 4marks Magazine
date = 2007-10
url = http://www.4marks.com/articles/details.html?article_id=1444
accessdate = 2008-04-09]

After being told by Dave Dombrowski and Jim Leyland that he would not be re-signed, Casey still praised Mike Ilitch, Dombrowski, and Jim Leyland for giving him the opportunity to come play for Detroit. Casey said "They let me know. I've had a great time with this team, the greatest year and a half of my career. It was great. But I understand the situation." [cite web |url= http://mlbplayers.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/mlbpa/y2007/m10/d03/c2247004.jsp|title= Casey bids farewell to Tigers |accessdate=2008-04-10]

On February 5, by|2008, the Boston Red Sox officially announced they had signed Casey to a one-year deal. [ [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080205&content_id=2365093&vkey=hotstove2007&fext=.jsp The Official Site of Major League Baseball: News: Major League Baseball News ] ] On April 9, 2008, Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell injured his thumb and was then placed on the DL, first baseman Kevin Youkilis was moved to third, and Casey stepped in as the starting first baseman [cite web|title = Red Sox's Lowell leaves game with thumb injury| publisher = Sporting News|url = http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=397799| accessdate=2008-04-14] and exploded by making some good defensive plays and hitting .318 with five RBIs in his first seven games. He was on the disabled list from 26 April through 12 May, and returned as a significant part-time player, finishing the regular season with a .773 OPS on 199 at-bats in 69 games.

Casey was suspended by the MLB for three games after his actions in the Crisp-Shields brawl. [cite web|url=http://www.patriotledger.com/sports/x2058734026/Three-Sox-five-Rays-suspended-for-brawl|title=Three Sox, five Rays suspended for brawl|last=Farley|first=Glen|accessdate=2008-06-07]

Awards and accomplishments

* National League All-Star, by|1999, by|2001, by|2004
* Hutch Award, by|1999 -- given to the player who personifies the spirit, courage and integrity of former manager Fred Hutchinson [cite web
title = Past Recipients of the Hutch Award
url = http://www.fhcrc.org/about/ne/events/hutch_award/past_recipients.html2008-
accessdate = 2008-04-09] .
* Nominee for the 2005 Roberto Clemente Award [cite web
title = National nominees for the 2005 Roberto Clemente Award announced
publisher = MLB.com
date = 2005-09-07
url = http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20050907&content_id=1200581&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
accessdate = 2008-04-09]
* Nominee for the 2004 [cite web
title = 2004 Nominee Cincinnati Reds
publisher = Rotary Club of Denver
url = http://www.branchrickeyaward.org/nom04_reds_casey.html
accessdate = 2008-04-09] and 2005 [cite web
title = 2005 Nominee Cincinnati Reds
publisher = Rotary Club of Denver
url = http://www.branchrickeyaward.org/nom05_reds.html
accessdate = 2008-04-09] Branch Rickey Award
* Nominee for the 2004Fact|date=April 2008 and 2005 [cite web
title = Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Jim Thome named Sporting News' MLB "No.1 Good Guy"
work =
publisher = MLB.com
date = 2005-06-27
url = http://philadelphia.phillies.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/phi/y2005/m06/d27/c1106058.jsp
accessdate = 2008-04-09] Sporting News "Good Guys" award
* Inducted into the University of Richmond, Department of Athletics Hall of Fame [cite web
title = Department Of Athletics Announces 2003 Hall Of Fame Class
publisher = University of Richmond
url = http://richmondspiders.cstv.com/genrel/110602aaa.html
accessdate = 2008-04-09] in 2003.

With Conan O'Brien, Casey is a founder of [http://www.labelsareforjars.org Labels Are For Jars] ^TM, [cite web
last = Edes
first = Gordon
title = Casey at the bat
publisher = The Boston Globe
date = 2005-06-13
url = http://www.boston.com/sports/articles/2005/06/13/casey_at_the_bat/
accessdate = 2008-04-09] an innovative anti-hunger organization based in Lawrence Massachusetts.

In a May 16, 2007 Sports Illustrated Player's Poll, [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/baseball/mlb/05/16/0521poll/index.html SI.com - MLB - SI Players Poll: Friendliest/Unfriendliest MLB Player? - Wednesday May 16, 2007 10:02AM ] ] Casey won the distinction of being considered the "friendliest player in baseball", after winning 46% of the votes. 464 MLB players participated in the survey.

On August 26, 2008, Sean Casey was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame (18 W. 33rd St. in New York City).

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time

References

External links

*baseballstats |mlb=112087 | espn=3769 | br=c/caseyse01 | fangraphs= | cube=C/sean-casey