The Last Letter That Changed Everything

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Baseball journeys rarely follow a straight path, and Sean Casey's story proves just how winding and meaningful that road can be. The man known as "The Mayor" opens up about the Pittsburgh mentors who shaped his career long before he reached the majors, revealing the profound impact of figures like Joe Ringel and Frank Porco who believed in him when college scouts weren't calling.

In this emotionally charged conversation, Casey takes us back to his teenage years when his father delivered the tough message that would change his life: "Nobody's coming for you." That lesson sparked a determination that led him to write 31 college recruitment letters—the final one opening the door that would eventually lead to a stellar MLB career.

The podcast captures several tearful moments, including a surprise live call to Joe Ringel, the man who took teenage Casey to Three Rivers Stadium for batting practice sessions that helped him develop into a .296 hitter against lefties. When discussing his trade to his hometown Pirates, Casey's voice breaks as he describes the pride of representing Pittsburgh and seeing his family in the stands.

Casey also shares fascinating insights from his recent stint as Yankees hitting coach, discussing the delicate balance between analytics and simplicity in modern baseball. His perspective on transitioning from player to coach to broadcaster offers valuable wisdom about life after playing days end.

Whether recounting borrowing Manny Ramirez's bat for his first MLB hit or describing the Pittsburgh dedication to community that shaped his character, Casey's stories illuminate why baseball connections run so deep. For anyone who understands that sports careers are built on the shoulders of unsung heroes, this conversation will remind you why we fall in love with the game in the first place.

Check out Hold My Cutter podcast for more conversations with baseball's most insightful personalities. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:07):
We're just talking.
We're talking here.
There's a second episode ofHold my Cutter here.
That's a burger by Rocky PatelAlong with.
They got great thin crust pizzahere, Don't they?

Speaker 2 (00:20):
I'm good, I'm good, thank you, but they're just
delicious, he already ate acouple.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
I think I already crushed pizza.
No, he's a, just delicious.
He already ate a couple.

Speaker 2 (00:25):
I think I already crushed pizza.
No, he's a rib eye.
He's actually a rib eye baby.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
Our featured smoke with Sean Casey.
The featured smoke, of course,with the Irishman is the Emerald
burned by Rocky Patel.
Hold my Cutter, hold.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
My.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Cutter.
What a great name he just foundout.
This is the second time he'sbeen on with us.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
No, no, no.

Speaker 1 (00:43):
The first thing he said when he walked in to burn
my Rocky Mattel was my favoritepodcast aside from my own is
Hold my Cutter.
And I said, well, welcomeYou're on, hold my Cutter, it is
.

Speaker 3 (00:54):
Because, yeah, he actually.
He was so humble.
He said my podcast is maybelike six.
Maybe it's a humble man, butit's like a six.

Speaker 1 (01:03):
We talked in the first podcast with you, with the
mayor, about your hitting coachjob.
I never had a chance to ask you, though we did touch on kind of
the philosophy.
But what about you?
Almost I would think again,you're a humble human.
Career OPS in a dozen years inthe big leagues 814, and a 302

(01:24):
career hitter in a dozen yearsin the big leagues 814, and a
302 career hitter in a dozenyears.
You know how few people,minuscule numbers of guys in the
big leagues who played morethan five years, let alone a
dozen who hit 300, let alone hadthat career OPS of 814.
So you've got the resume.
You're a Reds Hall of FamerLegit.
You come in now.
You're a hitting coach.

(01:45):
Do you have to almost humbleyourself in a way, because some
of these guys may not know yourresume?
They don't.
Is that hard Did you want tosay?

Speaker 2 (01:56):
like go check the Reds.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
You know what?

Speaker 2 (01:58):
No no.
At some point you want to belike hey, I did this, by the way
, I know what I'm doing.
But I think what's funny isthis generation knows me more
from the network.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
They're like hey we love your work.

Speaker 2 (02:11):
And I'm thinking they love me.
Oh man, great career.
Hey, great demo you did lastweek.

Speaker 1 (02:16):
Did you ever play the ?

Speaker 2 (02:16):
game.
Who thought you could play?
Yeah, and I think what the guysknow, that you're there for
them.
The guys know I mean a bigthing for me is I was on the top
step every pitch.
If you were hitting, you heardme.
You know what I mean and I wasin it and I wanted to get tossed
.
One time I should have gottossed, but I almost got tossed
a few times because I was on theumpires too, about a certain

(02:39):
One-day contract.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
Yeah yeah, you'd be the first ever One-day contract
get thrown out.
Walk away.
Perfect, I know.
Did you ever get thrown out?

Speaker 2 (02:47):
I should have.
When I was in Florida one timeI was yelling and Brad Wilkerson
remember Wilkie.
Yeah, wilkie was my assistanthitting coach and they're like
Wilkie's gone and Wilkie's likeme.
I'm like, yeah, wilkie, you'regone you had everybody's back.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
That's what they loved about Casey.

Speaker 2 (03:05):
Yeah, yeah, so I you know, I think the big thing
about being a hitting coach isyou've got to let those guys
know that, like I know how hardit is, so that's more important
than anything it is because yougot to you.
These guys got to know causethere's so much scrutiny,
there's so much negativityespecially in New York I the
spotlight's so bright.
You got to know when you lookin that dugout there's, you know
, at least you know the coachingstaff has your back.

(03:26):
But you know your hitting coachhas your back.
You know that he's cheering foryou, he wants you to.
You know he wants you to dowell and you know I think that's
.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
That was a big thing we talked to that earlier
episode about Aaron Judge andhis routine and how the ease
helpful that is to have a starlike that go through that
routine, because you can alwayssay, hey, look what this guy
does.
But what about guys that aren'tthe stars?
And do you feel like you haveto spend more time, obviously,
with guys like that and milkthem?

(03:55):
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (03:56):
Those are the guys you spend most of the time with.
I mean, I'm not going to nameany names, but there's many a
guy that I was hitting with thatwasn't the Aaron Judge of the
world.
They were like the guys thatwere in and out of the lineup at
times.
I remember when I first gotthere in Anaheim I hit with a
guy for like two hours after thegame and he was like I think
it's my hands.
I'm like all right, good, wehit for an hour.

(04:18):
I'm sweating machine.
He's sweating bullets Rightwhen we're about.
I go all right, bro, you'regood.
The bus has already left, it's,it spreads down.
I'm like.
I'm like are you good?
He's like you know what?
I think I figured something out.
It's my back.
I was like what?

Speaker 1 (04:33):
That's why you're not don't play.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
This is why you don't play, cause you're going to get
your hands, oh my gosh.

Speaker 1 (04:41):
But you so, you don't stop.
You wouldn't stop.
Well, it was early on, but inthat situation I think it's by
hands.
You just let them go.
You don't go.
Ah, it's your hip.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
Dude.
I let a lot of guys figure itout themselves.

Speaker 1 (04:52):
That's what I mean.

Speaker 3 (04:54):
I was going to say let me guess you, let them
figure it out themselves.

Speaker 2 (04:57):
Yeah, that's what I wanted, If I hit enough feel
yeah but if you're telling mefour or five things and I'm
trying to, in my mind I knowthat's not it, it's this.
Okay, do that and let's see.

Speaker 3 (05:07):
If it is that, yeah, something that, like I think I
I've seen and I love to do, isjust ask more questions yeah I
love going to hit with cutsbecause it's just not normal,
right, like he does things.
It's like he, early on, hisapproach is literally great, but
like you try to get him toarticulate something that he
can't articulate because he's sogood, he's so good and that's

(05:28):
the best part about talkingabout, like with Mike Trout or
somebody like that.
They just don't understand howgood they are.
They make the worst hittingcoaches but Coach over time,
with his injuries, differentthings.
Having learned how to DH, thedude's, become a wizard of
understanding his body, startfiguring out.
Yeah, so it's so cool becausenow he can go to O'Neal Cruz and

(05:48):
understand things he nevercould have and talk there,
because he's really goodone-on-one and it's neat to see
that.
But that's what it takes.

Speaker 2 (05:55):
It's so true.
I remember going to Ken GriffeyJr I'm like Griff, you're the
greatest hitter on the planet.
I've played with him for 60years.
I can't wait to hear this.
I'm like man, you got that.
Your hands are back, you're agreat load.
I go what are you thinking outthere?
Mechanically.
He goes just trying to get thehead out and he would just go
like this and I was like well,that doesn't look like what
you're doing.
For six years I asked KenGriffey Jr hey, you're raking

(06:19):
right now.
What are you doing?
Just trying to get the head out.
Oh my god, that's why he's thegreatest.
He couldn't explain it, it's.
He just knew that this righthere got all of it to work.
Oh my gosh, it was incredible.
It was absolutely great.
So and like remember garysheffield hitting with chef one
time we were both struggling atthe beginning of 07 chefs in
there, you know, looks like yeah, yeah, he's having a seizure.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
He's like no way.
So it's unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (06:42):
I remember one time he's like casey, do what I
seizure.
He's like bam, he'd be likethis it was incredible, no way
so.
It was unbelievable.
I remember one time he's likeCasey, do what I'm doing.
He's like just relax, he goes.
Okay, Casey and he goes, dowhat I'm doing, Just relax.
I go, chef, you look like theopposite of relaxed.

Speaker 3 (06:59):
You look like you're.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
You look, it's like these are some of the greatest
hitters of all time.
Johnny Bench would say, hey,just pull the ball, let's pull
the ball.
I'm like, really, I go what hegoes.
Yeah, just get up there andpull.
And I'm like, wow, these guyscould just do it.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
At the end of the day , it's crazy, there's so many
stories like that is like, whenI met Tulewitzki it took a while
to get in.
He was that mama mentality,like he kind of did his own
thing, had his own hitting guy,but like I would just go sit and
watch and not say anything andI learned that from Helton Like

(07:34):
don't say a word, right, it wasgood for me.
So just sat there, sat there.
I was shy early on and what hewould do, he would take soft
toss.
And what he would do, he wouldtake soft toss.
And I'm like I just taken softtoss, he just took 14 balls and
watched him go back, watched himgo back and then one day he hit
shower shoes and I'm like thisis it.
I got to go talk to him and itchanged my world because he said

(07:57):
something I'm like whoa, I, I'mlosing the ground.
And then my hips were out ofline.
I was a biomechanics, rightlike thinker, and I didn't know
it then.
And it changed my world.
He did it every single time hewas in a bad place hit his
shower shoes and his shoes wouldnever move.
So he was landing soft and itwas clean.
And I understood it because Iwas sitting there and I was like

(08:18):
wow, and he never told me aword.
And I went up to him finally,scared to death of him, because
I thought he could murder me,you know, because he had a stoic
face, never smiled.
But then getting to know himlike he wanted to win so bad he
kept his circle small and I hadto go to dinner, eat sushi with
him and he just told me hisentire thought process and what
he was doing at time.

(08:39):
He's hitting 390 in july, rightbefore he got hurt.
And man, he did it in a rocketscience way.
I was like if dude that talentunderstood that much like and he
could stay healthy, he's gonnabe the best player, right he
stayed healthy yeah yeah, it wasnuts.
and then other guys like corydickerson bro, that slider, I

(09:00):
knew he's gonna throw.
I was like cory, I'm hitting.
He just threw you a fastball at97.
You had third deck.
He had no clue.
The smarter he got hitting-wise, the worse he got.
The worse he got, I know, thesmarter guys, get him.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
I'm like dude, the guys that could always hey Case.
I got a tip, I got a tip, youwant it, I go, you got.
I'm just going to stay withwhat I do.
I'm going to see it hunt thefastball and hit it okay.

Speaker 1 (09:28):
No, I don't want your tip.

Speaker 2 (09:29):
No, I don't want a tip.
Go back and hit 206.
I got a tip for you to think ofanother sport.
Yeah, I got one.

Speaker 3 (09:34):
What about case?
What about?
Daniel Murphy did this to me.
I played with him in the minorleagues and, like he was
overmatched Velocity OvermatchedCould not do it.
Next time I saw him he was likea rocket scientist.
I didn't even know what he wassaying.
He was like talking aboutinches and movement patterns
before there's a track man andall this stuff I'm like.
And then he crushed Kershaw.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

(09:56):
I knew exactly what he wasdoing.
He was like he was looking inan exact spot, an exact moment,
and got.

Speaker 2 (10:02):
It was unreal but it changed his whole career.
That's amazing.
Guys can do that, Some guys Icouldn't do that.
Some guys want the yeah becausehe did that.

Speaker 3 (10:09):
And then he had a tip on Kershaw and I was like he's
going to get him and it was nuts, but nobody knew.
Delgado first half, awfulSecond half he had the tips.
Yeah, and somehow Daniel Murphyfigured out his system.
Tips are a big part of the game.

Speaker 1 (10:25):
Well, yeah, but Murphy was also huge on the
analytics stuff.

Speaker 3 (10:31):
That's what turned his career around, yeah but he
was way before it.
Yeah, I understand Right, butwhen that came in I was like
boom, he just went off becauseit was giving him his cheat code
, like that.

Speaker 1 (10:39):
But we talk about it all the time about the numbers,
and you mentioned that firstepisode about how they're
important.
But daggone it, it's such afine line, isn't it?

Speaker 2 (10:47):
It's a fine line, man .
It's a fine line.
It really is.
And I don't think moreinformation is necessarily good.
I really don't.
I think the simpler you can be,I think complexity is the enemy
of execution.
Complexity is the enemy ofexecution.
If you get too complex intoyour mind in this game, it

(11:09):
doesn't work.
It doesn't work.
I'm not saying, oh, it mightwork, no, it doesn't work.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
It doesn't work.
It does not work.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
Tactical game planning I got to sit in a
meeting with some Navy SEALs andyou think it's going to be this
overcomplicated thing by theend of it it and you think it's
going to be this overcomplicatedthing.
By the end of it it's thesimplest thing ever, because
it's not going to go down likethis.
Because as soon as the firstbomb drop, somebody's going to
panic.
Something's going to happen andthey talked about when they
started training the Iraqisoldiers like that's baseball,

(11:38):
right.
Something happens that youcould never imagine and you're
so focused on.
I know he's going to throw this2-0, but you don't even see
that his ball is cutting insteadof sinking Right.
You don't even see the like flyof the ball.
Chili Davis once again saiddude, it's not sinking, go up
there and don't look for thesinker.
It's cutting and sure enough,whap.
Homer, I'm like whoa, whoa,like I wasn't looking down and

(12:01):
in trying to box him this way, Iwas just like just see it there
.

Speaker 1 (12:05):
See it up.
That's true, man Sean.
When you got the job with theYankees, did they impress upon
you that, hey, we want you toincorporate the number?
We're going to give you a lotof the numbers.
We want you to do it.
Yeah, or they give free hand.

Speaker 2 (12:20):
No, they said do what to use the numbers.
I mean you have to use thenumbers to game plan, maybe for
some pitchers.
Some guys do want numbers,especially like horizontal
vertical break and stuff likethat.
It's all new stuff for me.

Speaker 1 (12:30):
I'm like what does this even mean?

Speaker 2 (12:31):
Some of the stuff like that.
But a lot of guys want thenumbers and one thing you do is
you've got to be prepared Ifyou're a hitting coach or a
coach in the big leagues.
Those, those guys sniff outguys that aren't putting the
work in.
So like you had to, you know,had to sit down with the
analytics guys.
I had to sit down with thevideo guys.
You know, and you know, getthat team and make sure I wanted

(12:52):
everybody to know there'senough to go around.
You do your job, I'll do my job, you do your job, you do your
job and let's be a team.
Let's not be talking behindeach other's back and stuff like
that.
To make sure that we're a unit,the hitting you is a hitting
unit.
He's in there, yeah yeah, that'sthe way to do it, and I think
it was just like Brownie youhave to be able to do it all.

(13:12):
Nowadays, you can't just say,hey, this is how I used to do it
, and this is the old school way, because guys don't want to
hear that.
They want to have theinformation.
And then, like you said, howcan we navy, seal it and
simplify the mission?
Yeah, give me all theinformation.
What's your job?
I want to know what's going tohappen.
I want to know every scenario.
Now let me take the informationand dumb it down to he's going

(13:33):
to throw, uh, the first pitch 70, 62 percent of times, gonna
throw a four seamer away, orhe's gonna.
This guy's a big slider guy.
One thing I learned about thebig leagues nowadays is even the
guys that are throwing 98, 99they might throw more sliders
yeah, they might throw 52sliders.
That that blew me away.
That was one thing.

Speaker 3 (13:50):
I was like, wow, man, there's more more of that than
ever, and in the percentages, Ithink, are awesome.
Wouldn't you love to know that?
Yeah, every time a guy's onsecond base, he's probably gonna
throw off two pitch right.
80 percent of the time, yeah,right good but your brain,
you're like that, 20 percentback in the day, but now it's a
certain that that helps.
Yeah, no doubt, no doubt is itsomething there?

Speaker 1 (14:10):
you, you put it in, you did the hitting coach thing
and you're you're saying youknow glad I did it yeah but
that's it, I'm, I'm happy tohave done it.

Speaker 2 (14:19):
Yeah, that's interesting brownie, because I'm
glad I did it but that was.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
But you're whipped after that, aren't you?

Speaker 2 (14:26):
It was yeah, it was, it was the grind.
Is real the grind?

Speaker 1 (14:29):
is real.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
What you guys do is real.

Speaker 1 (14:32):
You know, and you know even for you dude, well,
yeah, but hitting coach, no, butno, but no Life's not easy.

Speaker 2 (14:41):
It is, it's tough.
How did you?

Speaker 3 (14:42):
get to the ballpark.
Dude, Derek Sheldon.
That was the first question.

Speaker 1 (14:46):
Noon 1.
1 o'clock Incredible 1 o'clock.
I know.

Speaker 2 (14:50):
For a 7.05 game yeah.
Although the one good thing wasthe Yankees had two of the best
chefs in the world and I waslike guys are and fish on every
buffet and then they'd have, youknow they'd get the latinos
would have the plantains, therice beans on every bump.

(15:10):
I mean, I love latino, but Iwas like this is incredible.
I was like this isn't, thisisn't good for anyone,
especially if you're a coachwhere you're not like throwing
going through three shirts ofsweat like you're on the player,
like you become a slob quickly.

Speaker 1 (15:28):
So you stepped away from MLB.
You did that and then did youknow, like, at least I had that
to fall back on.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (15:35):
Well, the MLB was great and, like you know, those
guys are, you know, the head guy, noah Garden's a great guy, and
he was, like you know, mark,hayafa, the guys are the.
You know, the head guide, noahgardens, great guy, and he was
like you know, mark, I offer.
The guys are there, like hey,if you want to come back, your
seat's waiting for you.
So I'm so glad I did it.
Brownie, and I also think mytwo.
I had two daughters that wereone was a senior in high school,

(15:56):
one was in eighth grade.
Now my, my daughter's in now atrandomly, she's at Fordham in
the Bronx, which is crazy andthen my, my other daughter's,
jillian, is a, is a freshman.

Speaker 1 (16:07):
So I, you know what I , I I actually think at some
point maybe I would like to trygoing in and seeing what it's
like Maybe when the kids are allall get back at it and see,
like for a full, give it acouple of years, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (16:18):
Yeah, a couple of years and see what it's like.
I do think about it.

Speaker 1 (16:22):
I love it.
Yeah, absolutely love it.

Speaker 3 (16:25):
When you did it, I didn't know what was going to
come of it.
I didn't know if it was yourdream, yeah, and watching you go
out, I was like man, I can'twait to hear that story.
Yeah, because Mac it wasawesome but it's.

Speaker 2 (16:35):
Yankees too.
It's the Yankees, it's the Yan.
Had it been any other situation, any other team, I wouldn't
have done it.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
You see, you were so close to Booney.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
Booney's a great friend.
We played six years together in.
Cincinnati.
We came in together playingagainst each other in the minors
.

Speaker 1 (16:51):
He's such a great guy .

Speaker 2 (16:52):
Played with his brother Brett.

Speaker 1 (16:54):
Bob was my manager Played for Bob, his dad.
Bob was my manager for threeyears.

Speaker 2 (16:57):
So, like you know, it was just when he asked me too,
I was like, okay, there's a goodfriend asked me it's the
Yankees.
I've always, I mean, if youplay major league baseball, you
want to suit up with thepinstripes, you're hoping to do
it at some point.
So for me to do it as a coachwas just incredible, and you
really are.
I mean it's a different animalman.
I mean everywhere we went wassold out packed.

(17:19):
I mean you know, it just wasincredible, it was an experience
.

Speaker 1 (17:23):
Were you surprised when you got the call?
Or you had an inkling that youmight get the call from Aaron
Boone, or was that out of theblue?
I was definitely surprised.

Speaker 2 (17:33):
Booney had asked me before to come on the staff, so
you know that.
I wasn't surprised about, but Iwas surprised that it was the
timing at the All-Star break.

Speaker 1 (17:47):
We talked to athletes , talked to former players.
You talked in your firstepisode about how you just knew
your last year with the Red Sox.
First time you were off thebench and you were just dude,
that was going to be your lastyear.
Still talking to guys that havenow taken Michael McHenry, bob
Walk, neil Walk these guys it'sinteresting to watch them change
from that competitive fire thatthey had, going into a

(18:12):
clubhouse every day and having achance to impact a game, to win
or lose it.
Now to go up to a booth or tobe in a studio and not be able
to impact the game.
So how do you get that?
How do you fill your drive?
That void?

Speaker 2 (18:28):
You don't.
Was it tough for you?
Because it seems to be toughfor a lot of these guys to walk
away from.
I must admit that first coupleyears when I was done playing, I
struggled.

Speaker 1 (18:40):
Okay, that's what I wanted to hear.
I wanted to hear, but I figuredI struggled.

Speaker 2 (18:44):
I mean, listen, we're creatures of habit, you're
routine.
You're off-season working out,getting the cages, working on
your swing, taking ground balls,getting your sprints.
In all that stuff For 15 yearsthat's boom, boom, boom, boom.
Even moving three times a yearwas part of it.
Moving, know, moving here,moving there, boxing up the
house, having kids, and all of asudden I'll never forget it I

(19:07):
retired.
And I remember standing in myliving room in Pittsburgh it was
in Upper St Clair, it was likenoon.
Kids were at school, I was bymyself.
I looked up on the screen.
It was ESPN News and at thebottom it said 12 year, three
time all-star.
You know Sean Casey retires.

(19:29):
And it just gosh was gone.
And I remember looking at it,going that's it, that's it,
that's it, man.
All these years, all the time,all the hard work, all the
routine, everything you put inyour life is baseball.
And you get on the ticker onESPN News runs it by and says
Sean Casey retires.
And who's next Life moves on,baseball moves on.

(19:51):
That doesn't mean it's easy foryou to move on.
And I remember being home allthe time.
I was working 50 days thatfirst year at the network.
It was not easy, not easy.
I don't know if you had thesame feeling.
It was awful.
Yeah, no one really preparesyou for it either.

Speaker 3 (20:09):
No, you're retiring.

Speaker 1 (20:10):
How's it going.

Speaker 2 (20:11):
It must be great.
I'm like, ah, great.

Speaker 1 (20:14):
I'm very.
You don't know what to do withyourself.

Speaker 3 (20:15):
I don't know what to do that right there would have
changed my life throughout myentire career because I would
have been in the moment.
I would have stopped, like youdid with Van Slyke, and said,
bro, I look up to you.
I regret every single day.
I played catch with Javi Lopezand I was Marcus Giles, who is
my guy because we had Atlanta.
He's putting on soccer shinguards, running around with just

(20:37):
a jockstrap on he's high energyand I'm like go talk to him.
I never did and it's all thoseregrets like.
It's like I didn't want to haveany regrets on the field, which
I didn't tell you.
What I wanted to.
But not being in the moment iseverything that I'm like why did
I not do that?
It's because I didn't knowanybody.
I was so naive, right?
right you think it's gonna lastforever you do and then it's
over.

Speaker 2 (20:57):
I remember ray knight saying to me um, my fourth year
in the big leagues, fifth yearin the big leagues he was he
very frustrated with some of usand some of the guys how was he
as a manager?
ray was great.
He wasn't my manager but he wasmy hitting coach.
It was with bob.
He was on bob boone, that'sright.
That's right, yeah, and, andray was great, and ray was.
Ray was big on, like.

(21:17):
I remember him saying one timehe goes, guys, appreciate this,
he goes.
It's gonna go by like that, hegoes.
I've been out of the game nowand whatever.
It was 12 years, it seems likeyesterday.
I was just and I'm like Iremember thinking like who's
this old guy?

Speaker 1 (21:30):
you know he like.
What's this guy talking about?

Speaker 2 (21:32):
and here I am, like, 17 years later, being done with
the game, selling wow was heright?

Speaker 1 (21:37):
did you actually say you were retiring?
I mean, did you actuallyannounce?
I I called, I think.
I just wondered, because someguys don't announce it.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
Yeah, yeah, I think I talked to the uh oh, the reason
I did is because I got hired bythe network oh, that's right.

Speaker 1 (21:49):
So they had to like make an announcement.
So I made an announcement.

Speaker 2 (21:52):
Told the red really a lot of the reds guys and then,
yeah, you know, then I came onthat I was joining them that's
right so yeah, that's why I hadto do it.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
Okay, how about going back to the?
You touched on it, but, but Iwanted to hear the story.
Uh, december 5th of, I guess itwas 2005.
How you found out?
You're traded to the pirates.

Speaker 2 (22:13):
Crazy.
I was at, I, I was in a.
I just had my first daughter,carly.
She was seven days old.
Jeez, I wasn't thinking much ofanything.
I knew the winter meetings wasgoing on, but I didn't think
much.
I thought I was going to be aCincinnati Red for life.
I knew I had a few more yearsto go and I was going to be done
.
And I get a call from Hal McCoy.
You know Hal McCoy, right, oneof the greatest Cooperstown

(22:34):
writers ever Dayton.
Dilley News.
Ever Dayton, dilley News.
Good friend of mine called meat 8 in the morning.

Speaker 1 (22:39):
He's like hey Case, he's like I think you're getting
traded.

Speaker 2 (22:41):
I was like what To who?
He's like I think you'regetting traded to the Pirates.
I was like, wow, it was likethat stage of my career.
I'm like if I was gettingtraded I would like to go
somewhere to win.
The Pirates were struggling atthe time and I was trying to get
Joe Randon, jeremy Bernice totry to do well.
So I was thankful for DaveLittlefair for that, but I
couldn't believe it.

(23:01):
But I don't get a call againuntil 5 pm.
It's Dan O'Brien who's the GMof the Reds.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
And he's like day long.
You go the entire day.
You just start making somephone calls saying, hey, I was
so uneasy for the rest of theday.

Speaker 2 (23:16):
I was so uneasy I bet you were not Dude nine hours
and I didn't think I was gettingtraded.

Speaker 1 (23:19):
I was like I'm getting traded.
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
I must admit, because I thought it was the Pirates.
I had always dreamed aboutplaying for Pittsburgh, so I had
that back of my mind, but Ijust never thought I was going
to get.
It's so true.

Speaker 1 (23:41):
We love that.

Speaker 2 (23:43):
We love it.

Speaker 1 (23:43):
It was one of the hardest decisions we've ever had
to make.
Yeah, save it, Nate.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Save it.

Speaker 2 (23:48):
He's like we had to go get started pitching.
Now I must admit I was thinkingthe Reds do need pitching.
I do love the Reds and if theyget a good picture I get it.
You know what I mean.
And I was about to make $8.5million.
So I'm like I'm thinking tomyself this is a salary dump, is
what it is.
You know what I mean.
So I'm like all right, well,who'd you get for me?
And he's like we got MikeWilliams.
No, dave Williams.

Speaker 1 (24:09):
Dave Williams.
I'm sorry, Dave Williams.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
We got Dave Williams.
And no disrespect to DaveWilliams, no disrespect to Dave
Williams, but I'm like I think Isee the Dan, I go, dave
Williams, dan.
I go, there's a fight at theBat Rack to face Dave Williams.
You didn't say that to him Didyou?
That's great, I said there's afight and I love Dave.
I don't know, dave Williams,how about be the GM?

Speaker 1 (24:36):
and the guy says it to you, I go dude just tell me
you're dumping my salary.
Dan.

Speaker 2 (24:40):
Don't tell me you're trading me for a guy that we're
fighting at the bat rack.
That is great, that is so great.
So then I got traded to thePirates.

Speaker 1 (24:48):
So then, at that moment, then what happened?
You hang up the phone and nowwhat?

Speaker 2 (24:53):
At that moment I think I cried for a second
because I was overwhelmed.
And then I was excited and Icalled my parents.
I was like hey, guess where Ijust got traded to.
I'm like where I'm coming hometo the Pirates.

Speaker 1 (25:04):
I'm coming home.
I just got the chills Cominghome.
I just got the chills.
I'm coming home.
I just got the chills.

Speaker 3 (25:08):
So did I.
Yeah, I got all of my moneyUnbelievable.

Speaker 1 (25:22):
He's done it a couple times, pirate, and I was so
proud to be there and I I stillyou're wearing, yeah, yeah, yeah
.
If you're not watching thepodcast, you're listening.
Uh, sean Casey is here wearinga 21 Clemente hoodie and I when
I remember that there was.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
I remember that opening day, I mean the, I mean
I was so I was so grateful to befrom Pittsburgh and have the
opening day and be announced andto come out to the cheers and
my buddies and family andfriends.
I was, you know, the box, thebox where everything for me, man
, and like I remember, Iremember, I remember um standing
on deck a couple of times andthis is the true story Looking

(25:52):
down at my shirt says Pittsburghand pirates and thinking, like
you know, I represent the city Igrew up in and, I must admit,
because we didn't win, itbothered me.

Speaker 1 (26:01):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (26:02):
It really bothered me .
I bet it bothered me sofreaking bad that we didn't win,
because I wanted to win.
So bad in Pittsburgh for thoseguys and playing at PNC Park, I
mean, come on, I mean it was.
I used to love after the gamesgoing to the car you know the
players' lots underneath theright field Bleachers love

(26:26):
walking across the field atnight and just walking to my car
with the city in the background.
It was just incredible.

Speaker 1 (26:30):
Talk about soaking it in every second Big time.
Can you believe it?

Speaker 2 (26:34):
I want to give a shout-out to a guy I don't know
if you know him, brownie.
Back when I was in high schooland then college, there was a
guy I don't know if you know him, brownie back when I was in
high school and then college,there was a guy named Joe Ringel
.
Oh yeah, remember Joe Ringel?
I still talk to Joe, the leftythat throws batting practice.
Oh my God, joe, he just movedout of Pittsburgh and he was
crying because he was moving outof Pittsburgh.
He and his wife they moved downsouth.
I cannot wait to text him andtell him, joe Ringle, that'll

(26:58):
mean more to him.
You cannot imagine you doingthat.
I get the chills thinking aboutit.
So think about this.

Speaker 1 (27:04):
Mac.

Speaker 2 (27:04):
Joe Ringle was a guy that threw.

Speaker 1 (27:07):
He was kind of like a scout.
He worked at Bell AT&T but hethrew great.

Speaker 2 (27:12):
He made AAA as a pitcher.
Got hurt, never made it, but hethrew BP as a lefty to the
Buccos whenever they needed it.
Joe used to bring me down toThree River Stadium when I was
in high school and throw melefty BP.
No, I swear to God.

Speaker 1 (27:25):
I never knew that story.

Speaker 2 (27:26):
I was a career 296 hitter off lefties.
I honestly think it was becauseof Joe Ringel.
Joe Ringel used to throw me BP.
He was nasty.

Speaker 3 (27:37):
He could cut it, he could throw a slice.

Speaker 2 (27:38):
But Joe was incredible and people are like
man.
Why do you hit lefties so hard?
I swear to God.

Speaker 3 (27:42):
Have you ever been able to tell them that Not
really, I've never really toldthat story, I just feel.

Speaker 1 (27:47):
He's such an under-the-radar guy, so humble.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
He's probably just like him Doesn't want the credit
, but there's a point in yourlife where it's Lies, to say it,
because it really helped me outa lot.
Man, this lefty in the tunnelsof Three Rivers.
He had the key, take me down inthe offseason, no one's here
and he'd throw me BP.
I was like 16, 17 years old.
Wow, incredible.

Speaker 1 (28:09):
If you're calling to see if my arm is in shape to
throw.
No, Now I've not talked to Joein well over a year.
This is Joe Riggle.
Joe, we are actually recordinga podcast right now at burn by
rocky patel on the north shore,two blocks away from pnc park.
I don't even know if you stop,stop by here and our guest and

(28:29):
this is this is live right now.
I'm not kidding you our guest,our guest is a guy who said I
think I hit over 290 againstlefties for my major league
career.
He goes.
I don't know if you know theguy.
Do you know a Joe Ringel?
Do you know who that might be?
Who our guest is?
He said he picked you up.

Speaker 3 (28:52):
Yeah, he used to pick me up.
He picked you up, took you toThree Rivers, he said would that
be?

Speaker 1 (28:55):
Sean Casey, that's unbelievable.
So, awesome.

Speaker 2 (28:58):
Isn't that incredible ?
That's unbelievable.
Isn't that incredible?
That's crazy.

Speaker 1 (29:02):
I was like 17 or 16.
Sean said he was about 16 or 17years old.
How did?

Speaker 3 (29:05):
that even happen, were?

Speaker 1 (29:06):
you like family, friends.

Speaker 3 (29:08):
Is that wild?

Speaker 2 (29:09):
Joe.
He went to school with hisdaughters.
Wow, you're the best, joe.

Speaker 1 (29:13):
Hey Joe just real quick.

Speaker 2 (29:25):
We're right in the middle of the podcast and we've
got Joe Ringel on the phone downin uh, I think he moved to
North Carolina but he's nottalked to Sean Casey since Casey
was probably uh early on in hisbig league career man.
I was just that's unbelievable.
I was sitting here and he'sjust about growing up.
That's gonna be to him all.
You popped into my head and Isaid he's, he's, he's right now.
He's speechless.
I really believe I hit leftiesso well in the big leagues
because Joe Ringel would take medown to Three River Stadium and
throw in the new batting teamdown there.
He and his wife moved down toNorth Carolina.

(29:45):
It was incredible.
But, bro, I just wanted to saythis.
He's crying when he left.
Oh yeah, he's overwhelmed.
Right now we're doing thispodcast.
I just want to give you thatshout out.

Speaker 1 (29:54):
Isn't that so great.
I love the fact that Sean Caseywould remember.

Speaker 2 (29:57):
Joe Ringel.
Thank you so much.
Man Love you, buddy.
That's amazing.

Speaker 1 (30:01):
You're unbelievable.

Speaker 2 (30:02):
Oh dude, but isn't that great, it's people like
that, that's.
Pittsburgh, it's Pittsburgh,it's Pittsburgh.
Dude, Joe Ringel's, like, I'llpick you up and you know when
you're the guy that throws BP hehad a bucket of big brown balls
you got like five of them andthey're like they just come off
your back, they just Boy.

(30:24):
He used to have a bucket ofballs and I'd be like, oh my God
, I'm hitting big league balls.
He would tell me about, and itmakes you feel like this yeah,
oh dude big time he would tellme about throwing the bonds.

Speaker 1 (30:33):
What was it like throwing the bonds?

Speaker 2 (30:35):
Oh yeah, Because Ringel threw to Bonds a lot and
he would you need a book.
You need a book.
It is Peter Pan.
Joe Ringel would tell me youknow Bonds is looking to take
that ball middle Left center.
But it just.
Thank you, joe.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
For real.
Thank you for remembering.
That tells you all you need toknow about Sean Casey.
He's running through hisRolodex in his mind, do you
remember?

Speaker 2 (30:59):
It's unbelievable and I could never tell that story
outside of Pittsburgh.
I've never told the story ofJoe Ringo outside of Pittsburgh.

Speaker 3 (31:05):
But that's why I moved here.
Yeah, I was about to startcrying hearing it, because,
think about it Somebody that youimpacted at some point in your
life called you.
Yeah, I don't know how longthat's been.
Yeah, the last time you talkedto oh, maybe.
Yeah, I was gonna say maybe,maybe decades.
A bad place.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
You just changed incredible his morale, for who
knows?

Speaker 2 (31:25):
you know how many people he's on the phone calling
right now I guarantee you he'scalling everybody, he knows it's
just like my heart's just anamazing so back to the the trade
, though.

Speaker 1 (31:36):
You get told in december and you talk about
going to pnc park.
But what about even the firstspring training?
Yeah, because I don't knowwhere are the Reds trained.
Were they in?

Speaker 2 (31:46):
The Reds were in Sarasota.
Dude, I was in Sarasota.
No, they were in Sarasota Iused to stay when I played for
the Reds.
I'd live in Bradenton.

Speaker 1 (31:51):
Unreal.

Speaker 2 (31:58):
When I played in Bradenton it was like the whole
year.

Speaker 1 (32:00):
It was incredible.
It was incredible.

Speaker 3 (32:03):
Listen, this just isn't normal.
This is not normal it wasincredible.

Speaker 2 (32:08):
Lived over there in university.
I think Lamont and Leland liveddown there.
Yeah, yeah, they did, but youknow I loved going down to
Bradenton and playing with theReds and playing with the Buccos
, so that was good.
So that was really not a bigchange, and also, too, that
spring training there was an18-year-old kid hitting absolute
bullets and I was like who'sthis kid?
They're like Andrew McCutcheon.

Speaker 3 (32:27):
Oh my gosh, it was Cutch's first spring training.
He was 18.

Speaker 2 (32:29):
He weighed like 12 pounds.
Dude, he was so skinny but hehad some juice dude the nicest
kid.
I remember, kind of like Iwasn't able to take him under my
wings because he was prettygone quickly, but he was there.
Those guys were great manFreddie Sanchez, jay Bay was one
of the toughest players I'veever played with.
Jack Wilson was one of thegreatest fielders I've ever seen

(32:51):
Playing with Bernitz on his wayout.
The Joker, joe Rand there was alot of good dudes.
Zach Duke, paul Mahalem hadgood stuff.
Just a lot of good people.
Jimmy Tracy, jimmy Lett youknow, jeez, jim Lett, who else?
Jim Colburn.

Speaker 1 (33:06):
We had a lot of Jims.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's why we had a lot of Jims, a lot of Jims who the hitting
coach was then, and the hittingcoach was Mickey yeah yeah, mick
, mick.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Manto who, when I got called up to the big leagues in
1997, that night I got my firstever big league at bat.
Johnny Goro comes down and goeshey, you know he called
everybody Moyan, hey, moyan.

Speaker 1 (33:26):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (33:26):
You're going to hit pinch hit for Dave Justice.
I'm like, oh my God, that'sincredible, when we had just
come from Buffalo and ourequipment didn't have nothing.
So now I'm scrambling.
I'm like, oh my God.
So the first guy I go to isJeff Manto, because I knew him.
I go, mick, I go.
Can I borrow your battinggloves?
Can I borrow your battinggloves?
I go.
I'm about to get my first bigleague at bat and I have no

(33:49):
equipment.

Speaker 1 (33:57):
He's like no problem K.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
So leagues are like we got the single flat.
You probably didn't even knowwhat to look for.
No, it's incredible.
So I'm going, going, going.
I find seven and a quarter.
You know, lefty helmet, it'sTony Fernandez.
So I don't know any of theseguys.
So I go through the bats andthat's the key.
I pull Jim Tomy's out.

(34:19):
I'm like man, this is an oaktree.

Speaker 1 (34:20):
right here I bring a swing, that's with two of me.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
I put it back in.
I start going through the batsand I find a T-141.

Speaker 3 (34:27):
Right now.
Where, like are you supposed tobe on deck?

Speaker 2 (34:39):
Oh dude.

Speaker 3 (34:39):
I'm about to be.1 Manny.

Speaker 2 (34:40):
Ramirez.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
So I go up to Manny.
Oh, my Good pick.

Speaker 2 (34:42):
That was one of my favorite hats.
No way, so I use Manny RamirezT-141, Jeff Manto's batting
gloves and Tony Fernandez'shelmet.
You had a little bit of all ofit For my first big-league bat.
Go out there.
Jim Casey and Joan Casey cameto the trip they're behind the
dish Used to do the fist pumpwith my dad, Always growing up
in St Clair, you know, look athim, He'd always give me the
fist pump, you know.
So I'd go out on deck and Ikind of just I'm trying to play

(35:04):
it cool, but I'd look up at mydad.
He can't, my parents can'tbelieve that I'm on deck in a
big league game.
I remember that we caught eyesand it was like, oh my gosh
bumping.
He double stands up, doublefist bump.

Speaker 1 (35:20):
Unreal Chokes me up, unbelievable.
What city you?

Speaker 2 (35:25):
were in Chicago, in Chicago Gosh darn it.
Double sorry, I didn't know itwas going to come no that's
great.
Double fist pump Unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (35:37):
You almost stood up, by the way.
Yeah, but I almost stood up,you didn't stand and then I got
a 2-2.

Speaker 2 (35:42):
I remember getting a 2-2 slider from Jeff Darwin,
danny Darwin's brother.
I singled to the right side,got to first base, looked up at
my dad and my mom.
Those feelings are like we didit, my mom and just you know you
.
Just those feelings are like wedid it, like the Joe Ringles
and then Frank Porcos and theall the hits in the cages and
the, you know, not having acollege scholarship offer and
trying to figure out your way.

(36:02):
And you know Jack McKeon youknow well, jack was next year.

Speaker 3 (36:09):
But all these guys, casey McKeon, guys that believe
in you, I was like, if I don'tget another hit in the big
leagues like it's, it did it,this moment is all I need.
We did it.
We did it.
Unbelievable story like think,think about what just happened.
Brownie, most guys, he's tryingto find batting gloves, then
that's the helmet and the bat isthe big, like he says the big,
thing, yeah, in a t141.
I have a manny ramirez bat.

(36:30):
He changed it up.
He didn't swing that like I gotit but like the fact not many
guys, that's a.
A lefty model is what I used tocall it, because I never saw
many righties do it.
But like you get that done,then somehow you lock eyes yeah
I mean, think about how romanticthis game is.
And now you're, you're shaking,you maybe fist pump, I'm sure
you're like, yeah, almost likeit's a shake but then your dad

(36:55):
all the work, yeah, because italready happened to him right,
yeah?

Speaker 1 (36:59):
Unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (37:01):
I need you guys to take a moment.
He's crying, I mean.

Speaker 2 (37:06):
Incredible yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:07):
It was incredible.

Speaker 2 (37:09):
And I remember, on a quick note, I remember my dad
when I was 14 years old, Ididn't play my freshman year.
You know it's funny these.
I remember my dad when I was 14years old.
You know I didn't play myfreshman year.

Speaker 1 (37:17):
You know it's funny, these guys there's freshmen that
want to play as varsity.
I didn't play on the freshmanteam at St Louis.
Good, my ex is the last.
The freshman team, yeah.

Speaker 2 (37:22):
I came home I was like Dad, any chance you could
go talk to the coach.
He must not have been watching12-year-old travel baseball Me,
Grant Jackson, and so I asked mydad to go talk to the coach and
you talk about conversationswith their dads and their sons.
I was like, can you go talk tothe coach and tell him that I
deserve to play?
He's like you know what, sean?
He's like.
It's not how life works.

(37:42):
He goes I think you're betterthan the guy that's playing
ahead of you, but you're notglaringly better.
He goes and until you getglaring, opened up in Bethel
Park.
He's like why don't you go toGrand Slam USA?
He goes, I'll make, I'll giveyou, make you a deal If you.
If you, I'll buy you as manytokens as you use.
And he goes and the deal is ifyou.

(38:03):
Once you stop hitting the dealsoff and I knew it was a lock and
my dad made like 33 grand ayear as aaringly better.
I started hitting every day andI met a guy named Frank Porco
who was my hitting coach downthere at the Grand Slam USA.
Every Tuesday night I'd giveFrank Porco $20, 530 to 6
o'clock and he would show mesome of the mechanics of hitting

(38:26):
and I fell in love with theswing.
But then I would hit every day.
After that, for those sevendays in a row, my mom would drop
me off at school when I'd hit,I'd hit.
I hit, played jv, my junior, mysophomore year, varsity to my
junior year and then my senioryear.
I played varsity and I ended up.
You know I didn't get.
I didn't.
I got one offer.
The only offer I had to collegewas the university richmond.
But the point is, had thatconversation with my dad never

(38:49):
happened.
That you're not glaringlybetter.
You've got to put the work inlike nothing's given to you in
life, nobody's coming to helpyou.
You've got to help yourself.
And I think when I was standingon first base when I got that
hit, looking back up there athim, like I thought of that
conversation in 1988 or 89 whenhe was like I'm not talking to

(39:10):
the coach and you either getbetter or you don't.
You know what I mean.

Speaker 1 (39:14):
And all that comes to fruition.
That moment, that moment waslike.

Speaker 2 (39:18):
I didn't care.
I remember thinking if you lookup Sean Casey, big league
player, you'll always see 1997,late September.
I got a hit.

Speaker 1 (39:28):
You're there.
You're there, you've arrivedyeah.

Speaker 2 (39:32):
And on one side note, manny Ramirez was still all
over the place with his bats thenext day.
He taped all his bats and Iwanted to have that bat.
I go.
Hey, manny, where's that bat hegoes?
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (39:42):
He taped them on it I was like so I don't have the
first bat I used.
That is another classic the bat.
The bat is taped.
You got the ball.
Where's the ball?
Where is it?

Speaker 2 (39:55):
now it's in my room.
I do the mayor's office, thepodcast, which is it's in that,
it's in that room.

Speaker 1 (40:00):
How many of the over the years of mementos did you,
did you try and grab as many asyou?

Speaker 2 (40:04):
could you obviously could tell that I'm a fan no
like I'm a fan.
I didn't see.
I was the guy setting up withthe green tree marionette, 14
years old, buying a table with acouple buddies and selling
cards and all that stuff.
Seriously, were you really?
I remember meeting Barry Bondsat one of those shows and I was
like so excited and he likecouldn't have big league to me
anymore.
I'm like this guy just bigleague me like no surprise, what

(40:26):
started that no?
Surprise.

Speaker 3 (40:27):
I just what was the moment like baseball.

Speaker 2 (40:31):
I just loved hitting.
I loved that I could hit.
I loved my dad loved it.
You know what I mean.
I just felt like I had a goodskill hitting.
But I just loved it.
It was so fun.
My buddies loved it and whatwas funny was I loved cards and
all that stuff.
And when I got my first 96 Topscard I remember thinking too
like I don't care if I make thebig leagues.
I got a 96 T mayor.

(40:56):
I did have a lot of greatconversations at first.
Over the years I collected 350baseballs and 180 bats holding
guys on.
I remember Tony Gwynn.
I was so nervous I was like,hey, tony, any chance you could
send me over a bat.
It's one of the coolest bats Ihave.
It's a 32, 32-inch bat.
We were 37, 38.

Speaker 3 (41:12):
Yeah, really, yeah, really, danny.

Speaker 2 (41:13):
Parker with a tennis grip, with a head tennis grip on
it.

Speaker 1 (41:17):
Holy cow, that's what he used Really.

Speaker 2 (41:19):
Nobody was using those.
Yeah, this is like early late90s.
I remember Jim Tomey sent meone after he hit his 500th homer
McGuire, an early Rawlings onein 98, 99.
I have 180 bats of guys eachyear.
Jeez, all these conversations.
But I was such a member reallystarted it my first year when I
was like I was sucking so badI'm like they're gonna sit me

(41:39):
down too.
Let me see what the autographsare gonna be like bro sit over
balls, so I have so many ballsand bats and cool things,
because in that room I do themayor's office podcast and I
have a lot of it in there.
Um all, I collected most of itmyself that's unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (41:59):
So you got all at your house I kept all my house.

Speaker 3 (42:01):
Yeah, yeah, we have that in common, my friend do?

Speaker 2 (42:05):
you did dude I didn't even know that why wouldn't you
day one?
Why and why wouldn't?

Speaker 3 (42:09):
you, my uncle got me a ball when I was a kid I think
I was seven and it was a johnnybench ball he got because he was
a golf pro.
Yeah, and now I do it for hisson.
Oh see, that's great dude.
Yeah, it's amazing.
That's so great.

Speaker 2 (42:20):
You just keep passing it down.
Yeah, the little kid, the factyou're selling cards.
Yeah, dude, I'm 15 years old.
I just turned 50.
The little kid in Joe Ringlepops into my head like I'm 16,
17 years old I'm a mess overhere.
I feel like I'm 16.

Speaker 3 (42:36):
Hey, you got to think both of you guys, you kind of
look back and you start toremember things and the people
you're thankful for.
Yeah, and I think it's thecoolest thing that that happened
.
And you do have that little kidin you, right?
I see it in you all the time.
Yeah, you're over here andyou're a huge fan.

Speaker 1 (42:52):
Yeah Right, we're both fans of this guy.
I never played the game.

Speaker 3 (42:54):
Sometimes I'm just sitting here like is this real?
It's incredible.

Speaker 2 (42:58):
I remember opening day when I hit the home run at
PNC Park.
I was so grateful to get FrankPorco, who never played college
baseball.
He was my hitting coach at theGrand Slam yeah.
He was my hitting coach forever.

Speaker 1 (43:10):
How did you?
Was it happenstance?
You got him at Grand.

Speaker 2 (43:12):
Slam.
It was happenstance.
I just he was the guy givingdirect.
Nobody was doing that then andhe was giving lessons and I was
like, yeah, I'll do it and mydad extra 20 bucks.
My dad was a lot of money, jeez.
So he was such a great hittingcoach.
Though that's what you go tosell.
You get some of the big le ofmy career was I got him on the

(43:43):
field before game one at PNCPark.
I got Frank down there so Ihave a picture with Griffey, me
and Larkin and Frank Porco.
So when I hit that home run andI was rounding the bases, you
start thinking about Frank.
Frank Porco popped into my headAll the lessons.
When I would, I wouldn't, Ijust hit.
I wasn't listening to him.
He turned the machine off.
I was like go home.
You know Pittsburgh love, likeget out of here, you're not

(44:05):
going to listen.
Go home.
He would send me home sometimesif I didn't listen.
So whenever, whenever he wouldsay stuff to me, I would just
turn and look, turn the machineoff and we'd have those
conversations.
But guys like Frank Porco andJoe Ringel, guys that no one
knows the story about my career,they'd just think, oh, this guy
was a 300-year-old, this guy,this and that.

Speaker 1 (44:23):
No, there was a lot of people, people involved to
help you get there.

Speaker 2 (44:26):
And Pittsburgh people .

Speaker 3 (44:27):
Pittsburgh.
People, you make so much moresense.
She's weak.

Speaker 2 (44:36):
You've never made sense before.

Speaker 3 (44:38):
But like no wonder you love people so well.
Like I'm about to start cryingbecause I just had a very like,
crazy two weeks.
I'm sitting here and I'm like Ididn't have any of that and I
didn't have any money and I didall the work at work.
But one you know, a man canchange your life like that.
You have no idea of the impactthat that just had on my life

(45:00):
it's like it, it matterssomebody doing something that
they feel for the right reason.
Bro, like no wonder, no wonderyou're the mayor.
I hope every kid gravitatestowards men like you, because
that's stupid.
Love you, buddy, Appreciatethat man, I haven't seen you in
years.

Speaker 2 (45:16):
And.

Speaker 3 (45:16):
I saw your son.
And every dude I see, I thinkabout what I didn't have.
And I love my dad.

Speaker 2 (45:23):
He had issues, he's got cancer right now.

Speaker 3 (45:24):
But he wasn't that man, he didn't have that.
But because you did, your soncame to me and said I know, you
know my dad blah blah and satthere and talked to him for an
hour.

Speaker 2 (45:34):
He told him Unbelievable.

Speaker 3 (45:37):
I was there for one night in Johnstown first time,
had no clue for Faith Night, andhis son came up to me.
And that all makes sense now,because he told his son he was
struggling.

Speaker 1 (45:47):
Yeah, yeah, I did not know that story.

Speaker 3 (45:49):
And he came up to me and asked, and we just had a
long conversation and that ledbecause they looked up to his
son because he had a presence.
It wasn't because of the name,he had a presence there because
he was a leader, because his dadwas on and I was sitting here
like appreciate it whoa, thatwhole thing makes sense.
And then he came up and thankedme at the end yeah, after the
game, because I stayed for thewhole time.
He's like I was hoping you'restill here.
We got lost and I didn't get tosay.

(46:10):
I was like I don't leave untilI feel like I have to, and
usually it's when the lightsturn out, that's awesome.

Speaker 2 (46:15):
Thank you, bro.
Yeah, like that meant a lot tomy son too, Thank you.

Speaker 1 (46:20):
Well, what you just did meant a lot.

Speaker 3 (46:22):
And I hope a lot of people listen.
Thank, you.

Speaker 2 (46:25):
I'm appreciative.
I didn't know where we weregoing to take this podcast, but
you know, I think honestly I'vebeen on a million podcasts.
This probably might be myfavorite one, because I can
really express Pittsburgh andfigures in my life.
You know and like even my highschool baseball coach, jerry

(46:46):
Malarkey, like I remember.
Just one last quick story.

Speaker 1 (46:49):
No, it's not Again, it's not quick.

Speaker 2 (46:55):
When I was a senior in high school, you know I
talked about freshman year.

Speaker 1 (46:59):
I'm trying to make the team the freshman team, not
the varsity.

Speaker 2 (47:04):
But senior year now I'm one of the better hitters.
I've hit a lot and now I knowmyself.

Speaker 1 (47:08):
Okay, okay, now you know.

Speaker 2 (47:10):
And I can't get.
I got no offers from anybody.
Division III II I come home oneday to my dad.
I'm like Dad, where iseverybody?
I got all these buddies goingto different schools Penn State,
bucknell I go where iseverybody?
I'm good enough to playDivision I baseball.
Where is everybody?
They're not coming.
And he goes.
And my dad said you know what,sean, he goes.

(47:36):
A tough lesson to learn in life.
It's no one's coming for you.
No one is coming for you,nobody cares.
Nobody cares, he goes if youwant it go, if you want it bad
enough, you got to go to them.
So he's like tomorrow he goesif you want it bad enough,
you'll come sit and sit down andwrite 30 letters to the schools
you want to go to.
And I sat down.
I came home.
I wrote 30 letters.
Penn.
I remember writing one to Pennstate, clemson, worcester,
moorhead State, john Carroll Imean, whoever would listen?

(47:58):
Whoever would listen?
I wrote 30 letters.
I get up.
I get up and my desk is hey,sit down, Write one more letter,
come on.
University of Richmond sent youa brochure.
You know there was no like therewas no.

Speaker 1 (48:11):
Oh yeah, back then.

Speaker 2 (48:13):
Yeah, university of Richmond sent you a brochure.
Write one more letter.
So I sat down, found out, coachAtkins.
Dear Coach Atkins, my name'sSean Casey, I'm a hard worker, I
would love to.
So boom, that's in like January.
It's the end of May, my senioryear.
All my buddies are going wherethey're going.
I'm about to go to John Carroll, just to go to school.
I'm not even.
I asked the John Carroll coach,has anyone ever been drafted

(48:35):
out of here?
And the guy goes well.
Don Shula went here, I go wellhow the hell is that going to
help me for baseball.
So so, so, so, about five gamesago in my senior year, we're
playing Montour.
First at bat, bases loaded.
I hit a rocket, left center,clear, clear the bases.

(48:57):
Next at bat, another coupleguys on rocket to right center.
I go four for four, eight RBIs,four doubles and Jerry Malarkey
, who I just a wonderful,wonderful man, great, was my
coach all these years.
He grabs me for the last inning.
I'm about to run up to firstand he's like hey Case, he's
like man, you've had a greatgame.
How many hits you got?
I got four hits.
How, man, you've had a greatgame.
How many hits you got?
I got four hits.
How many doubles?
I got four doubles.
How many RBIs?
Eight RBIs.

(49:17):
And this wise chokes me upagain too.
But he goes.
That's incredible.
And he grabs me and turns me.
He goes.
You see the guy behind theplate.
I go.
Yeah, he goes.
That's the University ofRichmond coach.

Speaker 1 (49:27):
He, he sees the great when you talk about divine
intervention the greatest game Imay ever play is the day that
one coach from the third day thelast letter you wrote because
your dad said sit back down.

Speaker 2 (49:46):
They would say you gave me a brochure.
At the Keystone State Gamesthey come up, they offer me a
$1,000 scholarship.
They go to Richard.
It was like 30 grand a year, Ithink that paid for two books,
you know.
But we, but we got.
I think my dad took a secondmortgage out of the house,
financial aid or whatever.
I went to Richmond and then Iwas really able to work on my
craft.
I hit every day underneath thebasketball stadium.

(50:09):
We called it a dungeon.
It was like this littlerinky-dink cage.
I'd play Pearl Jam 10 album andback in black, play both albums
hit off the t all night long.
Try to hit that left centercorner.
You know, rock a rock, a rocket.
And and I was a friend I startedmy freshman year uh, freshman
all-american sophomore year wentto the cape, beat out helton
beat out helton starting thecape and that's when I looked at

(50:31):
I saw that I hit 340 with andled the league in rbis and then
and Helton was the main guythere and then I was like I got
a shot to get drafted because ifHelton, if I'm beating out
Helton my junior year I won theNCAA batting title and then I
was the second round pick of theIndians.
But the point is, had my dadnot had that conversation with
me?
He's like no one's coming foryou, nobody cares, go do it

(50:51):
yourself.
And if you go do it yourselfand put the work in and it
doesn't work out, it doesn'twork out.
But don't look in the mirrorand be like you know what I
didn't do enough, jeez man,that's unbelievable.

Speaker 1 (51:04):
Yeah, that's an amazing story the last letter.

Speaker 2 (51:07):
You write Last letter 31st letter None of the
Division III schools called me.

Speaker 1 (51:11):
How about that?
I swear to God.

Speaker 2 (51:12):
I must have had 15 Division III schools there.
No one, it just takes one.
No one reached out.

Speaker 1 (51:16):
It just took one guy to come up Sean so this coach at
Richmond drove six hours to seeyou that day.
Yeah, was it something aboutthe letter that you wrote or
just the fact that you wrote?

Speaker 3 (51:27):
Because you sat down and you talked about.

Speaker 1 (51:28):
I'm a good kid and stuff like that.
It's something.

Speaker 3 (51:30):
Did anybody ever write a letter?
I don't know how, about that?
You need to find that out.

Speaker 2 (51:35):
Think about this nowadays with letters.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
Yeah, yeah, now, they don't write letters at all,
they don't write letters.
I just wondered, I wonder, whatit was.

Speaker 3 (51:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (51:42):
It's crazy, you know what's funny.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
This is part of the story.
The McGarvey's I don't know ifyou remember TJ McGarvey,
pittsburgh the mcgarvey's are abig pittsburgh family and, um,
mrs mcgarvey's father was a waspap was a big uh scout for the
pirates and I had put down Ithink my dad on the letter was
like write down you know, uh,you know some things that they

(52:09):
references and I think oh okay,um, uh, mark McQueen called Pap
to ask him about my bat and heloved me and he was always like,
don't worry about your speed Ifyou can hit.
And he told me.
He told Mark McQueen he thoughtmy bat was draftable.

(52:29):
Meanwhile I couldn't get aDivision III scholarship, so no
one did, but a scout.
The eye of a scout saw thehands that I had.
I struck out once in highschool so that I was bat to ball
.
I could put the bat on the ball.
It was that.

Speaker 1 (52:45):
But you were hitting by your senior year in high
school.
Obviously you were hitting.

Speaker 2 (52:49):
Oh, I was raking.
I think I was up there in theWhip Heel.
We won the Whip.

Speaker 1 (52:52):
Heel Championship in 92.
I was up there in the Whip Heeland we won the Whip Heel
Championship in 92.

Speaker 2 (52:56):
There was no sniff of a draft no no 1992,.
We won the Whip Heel Finals andit was the worst thing ever.
The Post-Gazette went on strike.

Speaker 1 (53:02):
Oh my gosh.
So it killed the publicity.

Speaker 2 (53:03):
Oh, wow, so all we had was the National Choir,
eleanor Bailey, the NationalChoir, just writing locally no
way to get it out, no way to getit out, no way to get it out,
wow yeah.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
Well, I just winding down.
You've been so gracious withyour time.

Speaker 3 (53:20):
I don't know if I can take any more.
Right now I honestly don'tthink I can, but I did want to
the homecoming.

Speaker 1 (53:27):
you're at PNC Park.
You've already played for theReds the career.
You hit the first home run everin the history of PNC Park in
2001.
Then you traded December 5th2005.
Then, in the middle of Aprilthat year, 2006, you have a back
injury.
I broke my back.
Okay, how did that happen?

Speaker 2 (53:48):
Jose Castillo, remember him?
Yeah, I had a ball earlier thatI didn't pick and it pissed me
off if I didn't pick anything,if I didn't pick the ball, and
Jose Castillo throws me, gets aroutine ball and throws me a
pick and you know always expecta bad throw.
So I was ready for it and Iwent to pick it and I picked it
and it shot it straight in theair and I was like so pissed I
was like I'm picking this, likeI'm not coming on the bag, and

(54:12):
the ball was like spinning inthe air and I went to grab it
and right when I go to grab it,john Mabry's running down the
line with the Cubs.
I believe, and he was like headsup Case and he put an elbow
right into my back and broke mytwo transverse process and Dr
DeMeo is one of my favorite guys, he's the greatest Just such a
great friend and such a greatdoctor, but I remember him.

(54:34):
I went down and then there was aguy on third so I stood up and
it felt like somebody took asamurai sword from my neck to my
foot in a diagonal direction,jeez.
And I was like, oh, I heardthat's so painful.
Oh, it was so painful.
And I remember walking up thesteps with Dr Mayo and he was
like I think it might be a cramp, and I remember saying some
choice words this ain't a cramp,this ain't a cramp.

(54:57):
I think I've broke every bonein my body.
This is not a cramp, a cramp.
Yeah, I felt like my, but I wasin the hospital for like five
days, uh, over here, uh and uh,you know, with a broken back,
and then I came back from itlike six or eight weeks later,
which?

Speaker 1 (55:15):
is crazy.
And then, at the end of July,they traded you yeah, they
traded me to the.

Speaker 2 (55:19):
Tigers, and then, a couple months later, I'm in the
World Series, were you surprisedthey traded you the Pirates
yeah.

Speaker 3 (55:24):
No, but the whole—.
Were you surprised you wereplaying after a broken back the
same year?

Speaker 2 (55:29):
Yes, You're talking about rotational sport.
Eight weeks later, I was on thefield.
What was crazy was the oneregret I love this guy, the one
regret I had.
I had the slightest, it wasn'teven that big, it was like I
don't even know if I hadobliques at the time then you
know what I mean.
I had like a slight somethingin my stomach and they kept me

(55:49):
out that night, dave Littlefield.
So I had a Sean Caseybobblehead night.
It was at the end of July, soldout PNC, you know, incredible.
Well, dave Littlefield calledme in that day of my bobblehead
and said listen, casey, youcan't play tonight because I
have a trade lined up for you.
He goes, I can't tell you whoit is, but you're getting traded
either the next day or the nextday.

(56:09):
So I come out.
I still have people tell me tothis day.

Speaker 1 (56:11):
So you didn't play the night of your bobblehead, no
, and I still have people, tothis day, no feel.
Yeah, no feel, no feel.

Speaker 2 (56:17):
And they're like we're still pissed.
You didn't play your bobbleheadnight.
We all came, we got them.
So I didn't play on mybobblehead night, but I got
treated the next day or the dayafter to the Tigers and Dave
Little was hurt.
I wouldn't have any more ofthese stories.

Speaker 1 (56:39):
It was worth it.
We're glad you got hurt.
It was worth it Wow.

Speaker 2 (56:42):
Sean Casey, I tell you you are absolutely
incredible.
Appreciate it, man.
You're the best Amazing man,great stories I've got to have
you on my podcast, the Mayor'sOffice, soon.

Speaker 1 (56:54):
Yeah, you do you got a podcast?
You've done a few of those,yeah we've done a lot, remember
I said we're 50 grand in thehole.
Other than that, it's goinggreat.
We're going to contribute tothat.
Other than that, it's goinggreat.
We're going to help the cause.
Enjoy it, like and subscribe,as Michael McHenry always says,
and download.

Speaker 2 (57:10):
Yeah, and download you need to download.

Speaker 1 (57:12):
Hold my cutter.
The mayor says so.
Right, yeah, you need todownload it.

Speaker 2 (57:15):
That's how you start making some cash.

Speaker 1 (57:17):
Okay, do that.
I haven't figured that out yet.

Speaker 2 (57:19):
Please go to the mayor's office by Sean Casey.

Speaker 3 (57:21):
Start subscribing and downloading it's only been four
years and no one's seen thatmuch.

Speaker 1 (57:28):
That's good, oh my gosh.
Unreal, unbelievable Shoot.