BOSTON — Triston Casas didn’t take the field during Sunday night’s Red Sox-Yankees series finale, but the 24-year-old did share an absolute gem of a Father’s Day story by going back in time to his Little League career.
“I get out one day and I come back to the dugout crying, (expletive), and that’s what a six-year-old does; he sits on the bench and he cries and he doesn’t wanna go out there when his team is playing defense,” Casas recalled during a live ESPN interview in the fourth inning. “So my dad, being the dad that he is, trying to teach me the lessons that he did in his own special way, came into the dugout. He actually grabbed me by my shirt, dragged me to the line and Looney Tune-style kicked me out onto the field.”
Casas received an expected reaction to the blunt, yet jaw-droppingly detailed story during his earliest playing years. And while some, including one of Casas’ ex-teammates mothers, might’ve found the parenting style to be more concerning than necessary, Boston’s starting first baseman, to this day, still understands the value within the learning lesson as a big leaguer.
“At the field, I see my dad go away in the cop car, gets arrested, and spends the night in jail,” Casas continued, per ESPN. “But that day my dad taught me a super valuable lesson that not a lot of people know and it’s that I had a responsibility to my teammates, to my coaches, to the parents that showed up that day, all the fans that were at that Little League game, to give my best effort no matter how I was feeling that day.”
The left-handed Red Sox slugger has been working to return after suffering torn cartilage in his midsection, which occurred against the Pirates on April 20. At that point, Casas had been batting .244 with six home runs and 10 RBIs, headlining a Boston injured list that was already occupied at Opening Day, but further grew as the season progressed.
That injury landed Casas on the 60-day injured list with an initial eligibility return date of June 21, which will likely make its way into July.
Either way, Casas has plenty of life experience when it comes to patience and preparation in the game of baseball.
