Sunday, May 23, 1999
Gwynn likes Casey's style
BY CHRIS HAFT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
SAN DIEGO — Though Tony Gwynn is on the disabled list with a strained left calf, his judgment about hitting remains healthy.
Gwynn, the San Diego Padres' right fielder and eight-time National League batting champion, admires the skills of Reds first baseman Sean Casey.
“The thing you like to see is that he uses the whole field and he's very aggressive,” said Gwynn, who injured himself Friday night while breaking from the batter's box in the first inning of the Padres' 5-4 victory over the Reds. “When (pitchers) bust him inside, he tries to get the (bat) head out and when they throw him outside, he stays behind the ball.”
Gwynn cautioned that the rigors of maintaining a high batting average will increase for Casey, who began Saturday night's Reds-Padres game at Qualcomm Stadium ranked second in the National League with a .399 average.
“The longer the season goes, the more attention he's going to get,” Gwynn said. “And the more attention you get, all of a sudden, people want to get you out instead of trying to figure out how to get you out. They find a way a whole lot quicker when you're doing it at a .380 level, believe me.”
If anybody should understand that challenge, it's Gwynn, whose stint on the disabled list will leave him 25 hits short of 3,000 for a couple of weeks. The left-handed swinger owns a lifetime .338 average, which exceeded .350 in seven different seasons.
Casey accepted the truth of Gwynn's remarks.
“Sure. The pitchers will step it up a little bit? Hey, you just step your game up a little bit,” Casey said. “Rise to the occasion. I guess that's the way you have to look at it.”
Casey personally received some of Gwynn's wisdom in brief chats during last weekend's series at Cinergy Field, whenever the 17-year veteran reached first base.
“It wasn't too in-depth,” Casey said with a laugh. Turning serious, he added, “I just admire the guy so much, the way he hits, the way he goes about his business. He said some nice things, like, "Hey, you're going good, keep it up, stay focused on what you're trying to do.' It was pretty cool. I was like, "Oh yeah? Let me get my tape recorder.'”
Aware that Casey has yet to play a full major league season, Gwynn refrained from ranking the 24-year-old among his peers.
“I think it's too early to tell,” Gwynn said. “In his case, he doesn't need all the comparisons right now. He's trying to establish his own style, his own way of doing things ...
“The one thing I told him was, just play your game. When you do it well, they always compare you to somebody. When you do it poorly, they really don't care.”
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