Sean Casey Retires As a Class Act, Despite Likely "Enhancements"

Three-time All-Star first baseman Sean Casey is expected to formally announce his retirement this week. He will begin work as television analyst for MLB Network sometime before Spring Training opens.

Casey played 12 seasons in the big leagues, and while beginning his career in Cleveland and finishing in Boston, he will be best remembered for his time with the Cincinnati Reds, where he earned his three All-Star appearances.

During his tenure with the Reds, he developed the nickname of "The Mayor" because of his habit of striking a conversation with everyone on and off the field. Casey was widely known as one of the most approachable and friendly athletes in the game.

Off the field, the list of charitable programs in which he is an active member is extensive. Big Brother, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and various Christian-based groups all benefit from Casey's time and star power.

Meanwhile, Casey was also a very good left-handed hitter, compiling a .302 lifetime career batting average, which up until his retirement, ranked him 16th on the active list of qualifying hitters.

He was, for 12 seasons, everything that a professional athlete should aspire to be.

But while baseball looses one of its best, it is likely that they also lost yet another player who used what are today banned substances to elevate the level of his play.

The current Major League Baseball drug policy that was enacted before the 2005 season by Commissioner Bud Selig following the BALCO scandal amended the previous policy to include a much stricter section for performance-enhancing drugs. The testing and the punishments became much more rigorous.

Before the 2005 season, a player who tested positive for an illegal performance-enhancing substance was given treatment, not suspended, and not even named. Previous to 2002, there was no testing for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs.)

Yes, Casey exhibits model professionalism. It was reported during his tenure with the Red Sox that he could walk from the parking lot to the clubhouse and remember the name of every attendant and employee that he saw on a regular basis.

In 2004, at the age 29, and in the very middle of a hitter's prime, Casey slugged 24 home runs and drove in 99 RBI, tying a career high. But despite playing in 137, 112, 143 games over the 2005-2007 seasons, respectively, Casey only managed 21 home runs. Casey went homer-less in 69 games with the Red Sox in the 2008 season.

Coincidence? No.

Casey was in the prime years of his career, when all good hitters experience a surge in their offensive statistics. Yet, while Casey's batting average (.312, .272, .296, .322) over the last four years of his career remained exactly around his career average of .302, his power numbers drastically declined.

And since when has 33 been an age ripe enough to retire?

Maybe it is anomalous. Perhaps he is clean.

The fact remains that, even if fans have speculated whether or not Casey used PEDs, he was a stand-up character for his entire career. If Casey is ever mentioned in some former senator's report years from now, people will forever have a good memory of him because he was the exact opposite of those most hated by baseball fans—Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Gary Sheffield, and the like.

Any ball club would welcome "The Mayor." He was loved during his time in Boston. That he may have been involved with the steroid scandal says a great deal about the era that baseball has gone through.