I Am Casey Blake

Casey Blake:

Mr. Everything for the Cleveland Indians from 2003-2008 who represents a persona I identify with and admire.

Blake never made an All Star team. He never broke any glamorous records. In fact, he was usually one of the last players Tribe fans like myself thought of when we bragged about our team. He was often chastised by local AM radio sports jockeys for being played so much with very little production in their minds.

But Casey Blake showed up everyday with his hard hat and lunch pail. He played almost any position the manager needed.

"Where you need me today coach?" had to be a common question he asked in the dugout everyday. If he wasn't at third base, he was in the outfield. If the outfield was set, he'd go to first base.

You need him to fill the 2 hole in the batting order? "Sure thing coach. I'll try to move the runners and slap some singles."

How about cleanup? "Yup, I'll try to get get some pop and hit in a few runs."

Even in the bottom of the order, Casey Blake was there to fill the hole and never complain about it.

Versatility and consistency defined Blake. His career batting average is .264. Nothing to brag about. He never hit over .282 for a whole season. He did have two seasons hitting 23 and 28 homers, but in the steroid era that is not too impressive. For the most part he is a 15 homer guy. Overall, he is a .265 hitter, 15HR and 70 RBI guy. He has had a couple game winning dingers but clutch isn't an adjective one would use for Blake.

Nothing flashy.

I like to think this is me. Looking at different stages of my life and different aspects of my life, I can relate to the lack of flash. I can also relate to the consistent, reliable, grinder way of things.

In my career, my classroom is not pretty or filled with cool looking things. But the walls consist of necessary references for my students to get the job done. I'm no where near the quality of the "greatest teacher ever if you ask me" teacher in the room next to me, but I clock in everyday and get those kids to learn despite many challenges. I entered my school a decade ago and filled the open spot in fourth grade. I have consistently and reliably kept that spot filled the whole time.

Stability. That's my middle name.

Of course, that is almost the antithesis of the utility style of Mr. Blake (that would go to my good friend who has taught almost every grade level at our school since he entered), but in this case, my consistency is my comparison.

When it comes to sports, I am not anywhere close to most of my friends and peers in terms of athleticism. I am not tall. I am not big or strong. I can't jump. I am not fast. I can't dribble the basketball in traffic. I can't hit the softball over the fence. I make my share of errors in the field. Nobody will ever mistake me for a point guard or cleanup hitter.

I could go on.

But I still play softball every summer. I pitch. I play infield. I play outfield. I'll hit lead off, I'll hit at the end of the order. I can score from second. I make contact. I'll buy a teammate a beer after the game and pound some chicken wings. Cheese garlic bread too.

I continue to contribute to basketball every Wednesday. I'll bring the ball up when I have to but immediately pass when pressured. I'll hit my share of three point shots. I'll hustle for rebounds and steals as best as I can. I'll set picks and try to cut when I avoid my laziness. Overall, I am a middle of the road guy on Wednesday.

Throughout almost every other aspect of my life I am Casey Blake. I am not the guy women will turn their heads at but I have received my share of compliments from numerous ladies, many of whom I trust. I am no comedian, but I can contribute to the laughter. There is no Ph.D in my future but I have been able to learn just enough about a number of things to maintain solid conversations on numerous topics to a point be called "smart" often. I can clock in and go to work within so many topics.

With me, like Casey, you know what you are going to get. It isn't pretty but more often than not, it gets the job done.

I'll take that.