Sean Casey

A photo of Sean Casey.

Sean Thomas Casey (born on July 2, 1974 in Willingboro Township, New Jersey), nicknamed "the Mayor," is a first baseman in Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox. Casey attended Upper St. Clair High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the University of Richmond, where his .461 batting average in 1995 led all Division I players, he was drafted in 1995 in the 2nd round by the Cleveland Indians and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds before the 1998 season. Casey had his best year in 1999 hitting .332 with 25 HRs and 99 RBIs 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. 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 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.

File:Baseball first baseman 2004.jpg

Sean Casey was signed to the Reds through the 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. 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.

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. Casey credits his Christian upbringing, in Pittsburgh's affluent Upper St. Clair suburb, for his generosity.

Casey is, in fact, a lifelong Catholic and is featured in the film series Champions of Faith which shows how faith shapes Major Leaguers. He is actively involved with the Catholic Athletes for Christ.

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."

On February 5, 2008, the Boston Red Sox officially announced they had signed Casey to a one-year deal. 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 and exploded by making some good defensive plays and hitting .318 with five RBIs in his first seven games.

Awards and accomplishments

• National League All-Star, 1999, 2001, 2004
• Hutch Award, 1999 -- given to the player who personifies the spirit, courage and integrity of former manager Fred Hutchinson.
• Nominee for the 2005 Roberto Clemente Award
• Nominee for the 2004 and 2005 Branch Rickey Award
• Nominee for the 2004 and 2005 Sporting News "Good Guys" award
• Inducted into the University of Richmond, Department of Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.

With Conan O'Brien, Casey is a founder of Labels Are For Jars^TM, an innovative anti-hunger organization based in Lawrence Massachusetts.

In a May 16, 2007 Sports Illustrated Player's Poll, 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.

See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time

External links

• MLB Profile
• Sean Casey at ESPN.com
• Baseball-Reference.com - Major league career statistics

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