asey Craig camped under Mark Minicozzi’s fly ball in semi-deep right field. As though he were the subject of an instructional video, Craig took several steps forward to gain momentum, caught the ball and uncorked a laser to third baseman Reed Eastley in one superbly coordinated, powerful motion.
Salem-Keizer’s Charlie Babineaux, tagging up at second base, tested Craig’s arm and tried to advance to third.
It wasn’t close.
Craig’s throw hit Eastley’s glove on the fly – low, so Eastley needed only to wait for Babineaux to slide headfirst into his glove. Craig’s throw beat Babineaux by 3 feet and got the Everett AquaSox out of the inning with a spectacular double play.
It was textbook, exactly as coached. It appeared so easy that it suggested not only superior fundamentals, but also genetics. Craig’s movements, especially on difficult plays as the one described above, have a certain naturalness to them.
Certainly, Craig’s genetics have a strong predisposition toward the game. His father is Rocky Craig, current scout for the Seattle Mariners and former minor-league player for the Royals, Astros and Padres organizations for seven years.
Minor league baseball was both a grind and a joy for Rocky Craig, who retired in June after 30 years as a driver for United Parcel Service.
Rocky Craig’s proudest baseball moment, however, was his induction into the UC-Irvine Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003.
The point: Don’t underestimate the influence.
“I think he’s helped me out a lot,” said Casey Craig, who leads the Northwest League in runs scored (21), is second in batting average (.354) and is second in stolen bases (11). “When I was growing up, he was never my coach or anything, but he’d watch the game from the outfield and would come up to me afterward to give me helpful hints. It’s really nice having someone who has actually played the game.”
Rocky Craig never hit his son over the head with the game, although when Casey was 15, he suggested he might pick from the three sports he was playing – baseball, soccer and football – if he wanted to chase the dream.
In fact, Rocky’s most important help to his son may come today, as Casey works his way up to what he hopes will be a major league career.
The minors are as taxing as they are unforgiving. It’s a cruel weeding-out process in which only the best remain. Even then, as Rocky Craig tells his son, the game hands out no guarantees.
Rocky knows. Despite solid years as an outfielder in the Royals organization, Rocky played behind All-Star Amos Otis. Later, in the Astros organization, he was behind Cesar Cedeno. Only an injury to either would give Rocky Craig the break he needed.
Still, Rocky was called up to The Show twice in his career – but was unable to advance either time. In what has to stand among history’s all-time bad-luck stories, Rocky was injured shortly before his major league teams called his name.
“It just wasn’t meant to be,” he said.
Yet, maybe the stars were aligned in that seemingly cruel configuration so that Rocky could give his son a first-class education about life in professional baseball. Casey faced a choice of either joining the Mariners organization, where he was a 21st-round draft choice in 2003, or taking a near-full ride to Pepperdine University on a baseball scholarship.
Casey opted for the former. After all, the Mariners agreed to pay for college should Casey later go that route.
But first, Rocky held a seminar in Minor Leagues 101.
“I wanted him to understand that if he went into the minor leagues, it’s a tough life,” Rocky said. “It’s a lot of fun if you stay focused and if you stay single. That’s another thing. There’s not a lot of money in it, but there’s a lot of time and a lot of practice all year long. You have instructional league, winter ball, fall ball. You could be anywhere – Venezuela, Mexico, Puerto Rico. I told him if he made a decision to go into professional baseball, it’s going to be a year-round thing. When the season’s over, you get ready for the next season.
“It’s not as if you can go to the beach and play around, like a lot of kids.”
The numbers say Casey Craig made the right choice. He has shown remarkable resourcefulness in reaching base, with an on-base percentage of .447, second in the NWL. His slugging percentage is a robust .500.
In the pst five games, Craig is hitting .473 with two home runs (one a grand slam) and six RBI.
“He’s a very exciting player,” AquaSox manager Pedro Grifol said. “He’s got bits and pieces of all five tools. He just needs to put them all together and be consistent in bringing those tools every day.”
His father will make sure he does.
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