Page 23 Echo Lifestyle / Irish Echo June 25-July 1, 2008 www.irishecho.com Casey at the bat Newest member of the Red Sox Nation might be the friendliest guy in baseball By Michael P. Quinlin never forget.” [email protected] Familiar with the Bay State With a name like Sean Casey, you’re Married with three children, Casey bound to get a good greeting in the Red feels right at home in Massachusetts. It Sox Nation, which had its not-so-hum- turns out he’s been here before. Sean Casey ble beginnings in the early 20th centu- As a 20-year-old junior at Rich- ry, when Michael McGreevey led a mond, he played for the Brewster Career band of raucous Sox fans - many of Whitecaps in the Cape Cod Baseball them Irish - called the Royal Rooters. League in the summer of 1994. Highlights But the newest Boston Red Sox play- “When I went to the Cape, I realized er is a popular guy wherever he’s been how beautiful Massachusetts was,” he Drafted by the in his illustrious major league baseball said. “I just fell in love with it up here.” Cleveland Indians, 1995 career. That summer Casey also met his The convivial big-leaguer with the good pal Father Paul O’Brien, the Cincinnati Reds, 1998-2005 sunny disposition has always had an dynamic parish priest at St. Patrick’s Pittsburgh Pirates, 2006 upbeat, outgoing personality. Over the Church in Lawrence who started Cor Detroit Tigers, 2006-2007 past 12 seasons, the chatty first base- Unam (One Heart) Meal Center, feed- Boston Red Sox, 2008 man has honed his conversational ing hundreds of working poor families skills with the thousands of players in this city of immigrants. National League All Star Team, from across the league who have land- Casey and O’Brien shared an Irish- 1999, 2001, 2004 ed on his base. Catholic background, sense of humor Last year, Sports Illustrated maga- and outlook on life that formed the Major League Hutch Award, 1999 zine conducted a poll of major league basis of a lasting friendship. Voted Most Valuable Player, players, who voted Casey “the friendli- When O’Brien became pastor at St. National League, 1999 est player in baseball.” And he’s Patrick’s in 2001, he began making known around the league as “The plans for the pantry. He and Casey, Mayor” because of his approachable along with comedian Conan O’Brien demeanor. and others, started a fundraising cam- science was formed by his parents. He “I have never been to Ireland, but Of course, Casey is much more than paign, titled Labels are for Jars, which is also proud of his Irish Catholic her- I’m gonna go, I’m gonna go soon,” he a master conversationalist and all- raised needed funds while also dis- itage. said. “One of my best friends, Brian around good guy. He’s a three-time All couraging negative stereotyping. “My great-grandfather came over Healey, is from Cork, and his family Star and National League MVP who In September 2006, they officially from County Cork around the time of still lives there. He’s promised me the has played for the Cincinnati Reds, opened the Center. Last summer, when the Irish potato famine, when he was royal tour.” Cleveland Indians (where he and cur- Casey was in town with the Detroit fourteen years old,” Casey said. “He Casey would fit right in over in Ire- rent teammate Manny Ramirez forged Tigers, he went up to Lawrence to came over to Staten Island, and ended land, because that’s the kind of guy he a lasting friendship during their year serve meals and to help spread aware- up on Long Island.” is. For now, he’s traveling throughout together), Pittsburgh Pirates and ness of hunger issues. At the top of Casey’s wish list, he Red Sox Nation, getting the royal treat- Detroit Tigers before coming to the “When you give back to people,” he says, is to undertake some genealogi- ment wherever he goes. Boston Red Sox this season. said in a recent interview, “that’s when cal research and compile a family his- For information on Boston Red Sox, He’s a backup first baseman and your heart really grows.” tory of the Casey clan. Another goal is visit www.bostonredsox.com. occasional designated hitter who is bat- Casey, who keeps a bible in his lock- to make his long-awaited trip to Ire- For information on Labels are for ting .370 in mid-June. er, is a man of faith whose social con- land. Jars visit http://labelsareforjars.org/ Casey grew up in Upper Saint Clair, a town outside of Pittsburgh in western Pennsylvania, where sports are a huge part of community life. Just ask Dan Rooney, head of the Pittsburgh Steel- ers. Casey excelled in high school and won a small scholarship to the Univer- sity of Richmond, where he developed into a fearsome hitter. His senior year, he won the NCAA batting title by hit- ting .461. He made his major league debut in 1997 with Cleveland, then spent the next eight seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, where he was selected to the National League All-Star team three times. He has a lifetime batting average of .302, and was named the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1999, when he batted .332. Like any little league kid day- dreaming about the big leagues, Casey got his chance to play before his home- town crowd, when he spent a year with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2006. “It was a dream come true,” he recalled. “I was a Pirate fan growing up - watching Willie Stargel and those guys. So playing at PNC Park in downtown Pittsburgh is something I’ll Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts — home of the Boston Red Sox and the Green Monster, aka the left field’s 37-foot fence. .