University of Richmond Athletics
Spider InSight: Spiders At The World Series
10/25/2016 | Baseball
Sean Casey and Mark Budzinski played baseball together for three years at Richmond, including one of the Spiders' best all-time teams in 1995, when they went 43-17, advanced to the NCAA regionals and won their first-ever NCAA Tournament game. Casey won the NCAA batting title (.461) and was named CAA Player of the Year. Both Casey and Budzinski were named All-CAA First Team.
Less than a month later, they were both drafted by the Cleveland Indians, Casey in the 2nd round, Budzinski in the 25th. “Sean's name was called a day or two before mine,” laughed Budzinski. They played their first professional baseball season together, winning a championship in Watertown, NY. Then baseball took them on different paths. They'll come full circle when they reunite at the World Series in Cleveland.
Casey made his major league debut with Cleveland in 1997, recording his first big league hit in an Indians' uniform. Cleveland lost the World Series for the second time in three years. He was traded to Cincinnati at the end of spring training in 1998, leading to a standout 12 year major league career with a .302 lifetime batting average. One of the game's most popular players, nicknamed “The Mayor,” Casey is now a TV analyst for MLB Network and will be covering the Cleveland-Chicago World Series.
Budzinski played 11 professional seasons – all in the minor leagues, with the exception of four games – seven at bats – with the Cincinnati Reds in 2003. Of course, one of his teammates was future Reds Hall of Famer Sean Casey. He just completed his third successful season as a manager in the Indians' minor league system. He's been at Class A Lynchburg the past two years.
I caught up with “Bud” yesterday before he left for Cleveland. He lives in Richmond with his wife, Monica, and their three kids, Josh (14), Julia (12) and Lily (9). Josh is making the trip to Cleveland with his dad for games one and two.
Casey was kind of enough to spend a few minutes yesterday as a guest on my afternoon radio show, The Sports Huddle, on ESPN 950 & SPORTSFM 100.5 (Click here to listen to the full interview).
It's not at all lost on either one of them that there'll be two Spiders at the Series. “I don't know that I ever would have been drafted if it weren't for Sean bringing a lot of scouts out to our games, along with (pitcher) Bobby St. Pierre. So I'm very thankful to Sean and those guys who the scouts were really looking at. I'm not sure I ever would have gotten a chance to play professionally without them getting all the attention of the scouts in '95.
“I'm looking forward to catching up with Sean for a few minutes. I'm sure he'll be busy with his MLB Network duties. I'm proud of him for all he accomplished in his career and now what he's doing. He's a lot of fun to watch on TV.”
Casey, in turn, heaped praise on Budzinski. “Probably the best human being I've met in my life,” said Casey. “I can't wait to see him in Cleveland.”
Budzinski and Casey wound up having lunch together in Cleveland prior to Wednesday night's Game Two, and after watching the Indians beat the Cubs, 6-0, in the opener Tuesday night.
For Budzinski, it will be a rare opportunity to cheer on his own organization in person at Progressive Field. “I think it's going to be electric. That city is going to be very alive. It will be an unbelievable experience for both my son and me. The only other World Series I've been to was the Orioles in '83 when my dad took me to old Memorial Stadium. I'm looking forward to being part of this one with an organization that gave me a chance to play professionally and now manage.”
Thanks to some forward thinking by the Indians, Budzinski spent time in the Cleveland dugout this September. “They were very kind to bring me up for a week at the end of the season during the last homestand to spend time on the bench with the big league team. I was able to watch games from the dugout which was awesome and have a chance to communicate with (manager) Tito (Francona) and his staff. It was a great experience to see a lot of the work they do and just bounce questions off of them. That was a lot of fun.”
And perhaps a precursor to Budzinski's career path. “Honestly, what I'd like to do, is at some point be on the big league bench in whatever aspect the Indians think is best for me and them and our players. Whether that be coaching one of the bases, or a bench coach down the road, I want to be on the bench and help the big league team get to where we are now and win a World Series. But I've got to earn my stripes just like anybody else. I'm just fortunate the Indians have given me the opportunity to get back in the game.”
Casey has no doubt about Budzinski's baseball future. “He'll be in the big leagues at some point. I have no doubt he'll be a big league manager one day and be one of the best in the business. I've been fortunate to be around Bud in spring training the past couple years and see him around his players, and those guys love him.”
Budzinski played for Cleveland manager Terry (Tito) Francona as a member of USA Baseball's Silver Medal Team at the World Cup Games in Taipei, Taiwan in 2001. He hit .548 (17-for-31) with three doubles and three RBI, so maybe that left a lasting impression. Conversely, Francona, who won two World Series titles with Boston, left an indelible impression on Budzinski.
“He's exactly the same now. That's the beauty of Tito. He's an unbelievable communicator. He likes to have fun. He enjoys the game and he gets the most out of his players. He knows the strategy of the game but to me at that level it's managing people, and in my mind, there's no one better. He's won two championships and hopefully this will be number three.”
Casey played for Francona at Boston in 2008. “He's the ultimate player's manager. He made everybody feel like, hey, if we don't have you off the bench hitting tonight, or we don't have you out of the bullpen tonight, we're not as good. All 25 players felt that. He just does a great job of making every player feel special. That's why he's been so successful. He's a winner.”
No one may know more about how difficult it is to win a championship at any level than Mark Budzinski. “That championship with Sean we won in Watertown our first year is the only championship I won as a player. I think eight out of eleven years I played we were in a championship series, but that's the only one I won. It makes you appreciate how hard it is to win it and to not take it for granted. I talk to our players about that all the time.”
In each of his three seasons as a minor league manager, Budzinski's teams have reached the playoffs, with two of his squads advancing to the championship series. “Number one thing is good players. If you don't have good players, it doesn't matter how good a manager you are, you're not going to win.”
For now, Budzinski is content to join the Cleveland fan base and cheer on the Indians. “This has always been a town that's supported the Tribe. The fans come out and bring a lot of energy to the ballpark. I'm looking forward to watching a little bit of it and rooting us on.”
The Mayor, on the other hand, is hedging his rooting interests – even with some strong family loyalties. “My wife's from Cleveland, my father-in-law, brother-in-law, sisters-in-law. I have a lot of ties there still. Terry Francona's a good friend and just a lot of guys that are still in that organization.
“But I've got friends on the other side, too. Jon Lester and David Ross and those guys too. It's going to be a great World Series. You've got the great club in the Cubs. They're probably favored because of all the weapons they have. But the Indians just keep on plugging away and finding ways to get it done.
“It'll be a fun one for me just knowing that there will be some good people winning this whole thing,” Casey concluded.
REGULAR SEASON NBA DEBUT
Just a note to keep an eye on the start of the NBA season. Richmond Hall of Famer Ken Atkinson makes his regular season NBA head coaching debut when he leads the Brooklyn Nets into Boston Garden for Wednesday's season opener against the Celtics. The Nets home opener at Barclays Center is Friday against Indiana. Former Spider Chris Fleming is one of Atkinson's assistant coaches.
