I grew up in Cincinnati so I am a fan of Cincinnati sports, including the Reds. When I was in 4th grade (about 10 or 11 years old), I either won or earned a special trip to walk onto Cinergy Field before a Reds game. This was part of the time where Ken Griffey Jr wore a Reds uniform. He was the only player that I really knew as a kid. I played Ken Griffey Jr’s Winning Run on the Super Nintendo which didn’t have any actual player names except for Ken Griffey Jr (he was still on the Mariners at the time). In going on the field, what they did was assign each of us a position on the field and we would get to go out on the field, meet the Reds player that was starting in that position, get a signed baseball, sing the national anthem with them, then walk off the field to our seats to watch the game.
To my disappointment, I didn’t get center field to meet Griffey. I got first base and met Sean Casey. I never heard of Sean Casey before, he shook my hand with his, said some friendly words, etc. It all went pretty fast. Later on, I started reading about Sean Casey and realized that he was a really stand-up guy. He was known for always having conversations with opposing players whenever they got to first base, he was known for going out of his way to be there for fans, including starting some charities. The more I read about him, the more I liked him. I had liked Griffey because I knew he was good and he was just the name I knew. But Casey was the first player that I actually researched and tried to get to know. Griffey was still fun to watch, but I started watching Reds games to see Casey.
Also, standing at first base on that day as a kid meant that I was right next to the Reds dugout. So when all the players left the dugout to go meet their respective kid I got to be up close to most of them as they passed by, including Griffey. He said “Hey!” as he jogged passed me, so I guess I still got to meet him after all!
To my disappointment, I didn’t get center field to meet Griffey. I got first base and met Sean Casey. I never heard of Sean Casey before, he shook my hand with his, said some friendly words, etc. It all went pretty fast. Later on, I started reading about Sean Casey and realized that he was a really stand-up guy. He was known for always having conversations with opposing players whenever they got to first base, he was known for going out of his way to be there for fans, including starting some charities. The more I read about him, the more I liked him. I had liked Griffey because I knew he was good and he was just the name I knew. But Casey was the first player that I actually researched and tried to get to know. Griffey was still fun to watch, but I started watching Reds games to see Casey.
Also, standing at first base on that day as a kid meant that I was right next to the Reds dugout. So when all the players left the dugout to go meet their respective kid I got to be up close to most of them as they passed by, including Griffey. He said “Hey!” as he jogged passed me, so I guess I still got to meet him after all!
