In his series of TikTok videos in which he shares behind-the-scenes stories and his thoughts on the best and worst athletes he’s interacted with, author Jeff Pearlman has run the gamut.
He’s talked about the coolest guys in sports (Dusty Baker), the nicest person in the NBA (Shaq), and the scariest athlete he’s ever covered (Albert Belle).
One of his latest videos is all about the nicest Major League Baseball player he ever encountered, longtime Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sean Casey.
“There have been many, many great guys I dealt with throughout my career. Tori Hunter was awesome. Mike Sweeney was awesome. I love [Ken] Griffey, Jr. Jason Schmidt, JT Snow, on and on. [Derek] Jeter was great. The nicest baseball player of all time, all time, was Cincinnati Reds’ first baseman Sean Casey.
“Sean Casey’s nickname was “The Mayor.” He greeted everyone like the mayor. He was always smiling. He was always happy. He would report to spring training… first thing he would do is walk into the media workroom and greet all the Cincinnati Reds reporters one by one. Shake their hand. ‘How’s your offseason? How are you doing?’ Hugs. I mean, he was the best. He knew people’s kids’ names.
“The most amazing thing is he invited the beat writers of the Reds to his wedding. That doesn’t happen. Sean Casey, Reds’ first basement, invited the writers to his wedding. He’s the nicest player I’ve ever met by far. Love him.”
It wasn’t just journalists. Casey was voted in 2007 as “the friendliest player in baseball” by fellow players in a Sports Illustrated poll.