Yankees slugger Aaron Judge speaks highly of hitting coach Sean Casey: 'Hopefully he stays'

The personality that earned Sean Casey the nickname “The Mayor” during his big-league playing career was on full display on a Zoom call over the All-Star break shortly after he was hired as the new Yankees hitting coach.

But Casey, whose 12 mostly successful years in the majors played a significant role in his being hired to replace the fired Dillon Lawson, also seemed to intuitively understand, because of that experience, his rah-rah arrival guaranteed nothing.

“I’m not crazy enough to think that I’m going to come in and all of a sudden, all nine guys are going to start hitting because Sean Casey has arrived,” Casey said that afternoon.

Indeed, that did not occur.

In the second half the Yankees offense, though making some minor strides, for the most part resembled the inconsistent unit of the season’s first half under Lawson.

None of which means Casey won’t be, or shouldn’t be, brought back as hitting coach.

His future, like several members of Aaron Boone’s coaching staff, is up in the air. Casey, who had no previous coaching experience when the Yankees hired him away from MLB Network, signed on just through the end of the season with no commitment made by him or the club for beyond that.

Boone, who has one more year on his contract and is meeting this week in Tampa with managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner and GM Brian Cashman, is expected to return next season. But much of the organization’s offseason work will be put on hold until the independent company Steinbrenner has hired to evaluate the franchise from top-to-bottom finishes its work, which is slated to get underway this week.

Casey has expressed an openness to returning, which would go over well in the clubhouse. Not surprisingly, Casey quickly bonded with hitters, many of them drawn not only to an infectious positive energy, but also his ability to speak their language.

Though no one had any public criticisms of Lawson, the minor-league hitting coordinator hired as hitting coach before the 2022 season to replace the well-liked and well-respected Marcus Thames, there had been a collective underlying desire in the clubhouse for more big-league playing and/or coaching experience on staff.

There was a reason, after all, multiple hitters would seek out one of Lawson’s assistant hitting coaches in 2022, Hensley Meulens, and then Brad Wilkerson this season. Both Meulens, now the Rockies hitting coach, and Wilkerson played in the majors.

“I relate to him really well,” DJ LeMahieu, a two-time batting champion, said toward the end of the season of Casey. “Just great, positive energy, a great guy and a good guy to talk hitting with. He was a really good hitter himself. I just enjoy talking the game with him . . . just talking the game, it’s been a help.” 

LeMahieu, who hit .220 with a .643 OPS in the first half, was among the hitters whose numbers got better under Casey, hitting .273 with an .809 OPS after the All-Star Break.

Statistically, the Yankees were similar in both halves – they hit .231 in the first half and second half, for example, and had a comparable OPS, .711 compared to .688 – they did show dramatic improvement in one area. Going into the season’s final game, the Yankees led the majors with 4.03 pitches per plate appearance ratio after ranking 20th in that category (3.86) in the season’s first half.

Though Casey is a coaching neophyte, oftentimes a hitting coach’s primary duty is simply connecting with players and infusing them with confidence, something Aaron Judge indirectly referenced.   

“Sean’s been great,” Judge said Sunday. “He brings a different philosophy. I think he brings a positive attitude to help guys stay locked in on their at-bats. We’ve got all the numbers, we’ve got all the information, but then it’s just about you stepping in the box and feeling like you’re the greatest hitter on the planet every single time you step into the box. So he’s been a great addition. Hopefully he stays. We’ll see what happens.”