Last summer, Casey Crosby did what many dads do.
The Kaneland graduate and former MLB pitcher took his wife, Haley, and their four kids to see a Kane County Cougars game.
“My kids were rolling down the hill,” Crosby said. “My wife and I had some drinks. It’s just a fun time to be out here. It was a different perspective when I came back here for a couple of games.”
Four years removed from the end of his professional baseball career, Crosby had earned his master’s degree in accounting at Northern Illinois and completed his CPA.
“I was done, mentally and physically,” Crosby said. “It was time to start the next chapter.”
Noticing former Chicago Dogs teammate Harrison Smith, however, get ready before the game tugged at Crosby.
“I was sitting there watching him warm up and I was like, ‘I think I could do this with how life is right now,’” Crosby said. “That’s when the idea came into my head.
“I put that in the back of my head and started throwing a little bit. I felt good.”
Fast forward to Thursday, and you can officially change his Wikipedia page from former professional baseball player to current professional baseball player.
With blessings from his family and his bosses at a St. Charles commercial real estate firm, Crosby officially signed with the Cougars and pitched three scoreless innings in two outings at age 36.
It was his first professional action since the 2020 season with the Chicago Dogs.
“Basically, there were no obstacles in my way to do it, just myself, my own mentality of going for it,” Crosby said. “If I can still do it and there’s nothing stopping me, why wouldn’t I?”
Crosby enlisted the help of Kaneland catcher Nate Campbell to work his bullpen sessions at Elburn Field House. Crosby was drafted in by the Detroit Tigers right around the time the Coe recruit was born but Campbell was glad to help out.
“He’s in his mid-30s, but he’s a great guy and he treats me like a brother,” Campbell said of Crosby. “I was impressed. He just recently picked it back up. Right away, he was throwing heat.
“I was like, holy cow, especially from the left side.”
Crosby asked Smith, ex-teammate, to help him get in touch with Cougars manager George Tsamis. In his time managing independent baseball teams, Tsmasis has fielded similar calls.
“Sometimes, you get these with guys who haven’t played in years and then you never hear from them again,” Tsamis said. “In this case, he really wanted the opportunity.”
Crosby’s start to the season was delayed due to biceps soreness. When Crosby was finally ready to go, Tsamis signed him and immediately put him into a pressure situation.
“That one inning the other night was pretty nice,” Tsamis said. “Somebody said he threw 98. That’s amazing to me. It’s nice and easy. It’s very impressive.”
Crosby said he did a lot of work on his mental health in his time away from baseball.
Former MLB left-hander Casey Crosby throws a pitch at Kaneland, his alma mater, during a session on Tuesday, July 11, 2017. (Sean King / The Beacon-News)
The unburdening of the pressure from being a fifth-round draft pick and relying on the sport as his livelihood has freed him up this time around.
“I dealt with my fair share of trials and tribulations throughout baseball,” Crosby said. “It just helped me get a new perspective on what I’m doing and what this is.”
This time around, Crosby has a new outlook.
“It’s a new goal — just to have fun and enjoy the game.” he said. “I felt like I wasn’t able to enjoy the game with that kind of stuff weighing on me.”
With that burden off his shoulders, Crosby is giving it one more shot.
“When you strip everything down, the crowd, the money that’s in baseball, it’s a fun game,” Crosby said. “For me to do this professionally for a third stint, I just count my blessings all the time.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
