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June 1, 2008
By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer
BALTIMORE -- When Sean Casey signed with the Red Sox during the offseason, he knew he was coming to a special place.
For some reason, however, history-making events tend to follow the veteran where ever he goes. Casey was in the dugout Saturday night at Camden Yards when teammate Manny Ramirez hit his 500th home run. It’s the third time in Casey’s career he has witnessed such a feat.
Casey was playing for the Reds when he saw the Cubs’ Sammy Sosa hit his 500th at Cincinnati. Casey also experienced Ken Griffey notched his 500th at St. Louis. In fact, Griffey hit his 599th on Saturday.
“I feel really blessed and fortunate to see three players reach 500,” he said.
At Cincinnati, Casey said he remembers there were so many Cubs fans it was like being at Wrigley Field. He said he felt the same here Saturday night.
“It felt like we were at Fenway,” Casey said. “There was three-quarters Boston fans here. It was crazy.”
The main reason Casey wanted to sign with the Red Sox was because of the special group of players in the Boston clubhouse. When he witnessed the celebration the players gave Manny on Saturday, it was just another example of how close this team really is.
“It’s impressive,” said Casey. “We’ve got a great bunch of guys in here, and the guys here appreciate the history of baseball. To hit 500 home runs is not easy. That is a tough thing to do. Five-hundred times he’s rounded the bases – that’s amazing. We have a good mix of young guys and older guys and the appreciation is there. People should stop and take a minute to appreciate it because you may not ever see that again in your career. We watched history tonight. When our careers are over we can all look back and say ‘I saw Manny Ramirez hit his 500th homer.’ If that doesn’t give you the chills, you shouldn’t be playing this game. Every guy in this clubhouse appreciated what they saw.”
Posted by Joe McDonald 
at 12:10 AM | Permalink
