From the Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass...
The Mayor not seeking re-election
On Pro Baseball
Bill Burt
January 16, 2009 03:53 am
Former Red Sox backup first baseman Sean Casey says he is about two weeks away from the inevitable.
As Casey spoke via phone from his Pittsburgh home, his 5-year-old son Jacob was making noise in the background. Family comes first with Casey.
"Unless there is an offer that blows me away, I will be retiring," said the 34-year-old Casey, who with wife Mandi has three children, ages 7, 5 and 3.
"And I'm not talking about money as I am the opportunity to play a lot more. It's time to be around the family more. It would be too difficult to go another city, move the family and be just a part-time player. My family is ready to be in one place."
Casey, though, isn't complaining about his final year as a role player with the Red Sox. To the contrary.
"I'm so glad that I came to Boston," said Casey, who hit .322 with 17 RBIs in 199 at-bats last year. "It was everything I thought it would be and more. There is no other place in baseball that has the feeling of Fenway Park every night.
"It seemed we were winning every night. I got to step in a few times to really help out whether it was backing up (Kevin Youkilis) or filling in when Mike Lowell got hurt. The tough part about playing part-time, for me, was you never get in a true rhythm. Coming off bench is not easy. But I enjoyed every second I was there."
One of the fringe benefits of being here was that he saw one of his best friends, Fr. Paul O'Brien, pastor at St. Patrick's Church in Lawrence, regularly. It was a friendship that started when he was a collegian playing in the famed Cape Cod League and they met at a grocery store.
In fact, Casey got Fr. O'Brien, who oversaw his marriage and baptized all three of his children, to run periodic prayer services at Fenway Park for some of the players.
"That meant a lot to me and some of the guys," said Casey. "Guys were really thankful and appreciative of that."
Among his favorite experiences in a Red Sox uniform, the trip to Japan, as difficult as the travel and stiff neck he suffered was, is right near the top.
But No. 1 was no doubt being in the dugout for Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.
The Red Sox were down in the series, 3-1, and trailing that game 7-0 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Red Sox scored four runs in the seventh, three more in the eighth to tie it, and won it in the ninth, when J.D. Drew's two-out single knocked in Youkilis.
The irony is Casey struck out swinging on four pitches in the eighth inning and the Sox trailing, 7-6. But he was the first one at home plate to hug Youkilis when he scored the game-winner.
"Just being able to share that with 25 guys in clubhouse," said Casey, "is a memory I will take with me the rest of my life."
He also got to experience "Manny being Manny" up close and personal.
"I remember being told that, 'You're going to see Manny do something,' " said Casey. "Well, it did happen (when Manny was saying he was injured and asked to be traded in July), which was a crazy few weeks in Boston. But looking back, Manny was a great guy, man to man. But then it got crazy."
Casey said he got a new-found respect for left-handed batters at Fenway Park.
"Fenway is not a lefty-friendly park for power hitters," said Casey. "I didn't realize that as a visiting player. But it is hard to hit them out in right field. At one point, I remember going up to David (Ortiz) and saying how amazing he really is to hit 50 home runs in a season, playing here."
Casey said he would be remiss not to mention the experience he had watching a Rookie of the Year become a Most Valuable Player.
"Dustin Pedroia is one of the greatest teammates I ever played with, and I've played with some great ones," said Casey. "That's the ultimate compliment, being a great teammate. He's one of the hungriest players I've ever seen. He only wants to win. I will always root for Dustin."
Another benefit was becoming a Boston Celtics fan, especially when he was on the disabled list and didn't travel with a team for a few weeks. He attended a few Celtics games and saw the same craziness he saw at Fenway Park.
"I got caught up in it a few times," said Casey. "That was an amazing run (the Celtics) were on. The Garden was electric."
While the Red Sox chose to go in another direction with Casey, opting to sign Mark Kotsay as Youkilis' backup, he holds nothing against the franchise.
"Are you kidding me? The Red Sox know how to treat a player. Everything they do, from the top on down, is professional," said Casey. "I saw the John Smoltz press conference. He said everything I've said all year. The Red Sox do it right. Theo Epstein has a plan and he carries it out. Everyone is on the same page. And everything is first class."
The 12-year veteran's shining moment was in 2006 with the Detroit Tigers. He went 9 for 15 (2 HRs, 5 RBIs) over the last four games against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.
"As I was rounding the bases after hitting the home run against (Jeff) Suppan, all I could think of was my dream had come true," said Casey. "I was remembering playing Wiffle Ball in the yard, imagining that I was hitting a home run in the World Series. I'll never forget that."
If Casey has played his last game, his career unofficially ended last week in Boston when the Boston Baseball Writers honored him with its annual Tommy McCarthy "Good Guy Award."
"I can't tell you how proud I was to get that from the writers," said Casey. "What a great day that was. They didn't have to do that. But it was perfect way to end it. I will always be able to say I played for the Boston Red Sox and had a ball doing it."
E-mail Bill Burt at bburt@eagletribune.com.