Crosby gone but certainly not forgotten at Kaneland
Casey Crosby had just a few moments to himself before the Kaneland baseball team and their fans recognized him as he made a guest appearance before the Knights' game against Geneva last Thursday.
Crosby looked taller (up to 6-foot-6 perhaps?) than last year, couldn't hide inside a gray hooded sweatshirt with the Major League Baseball logo on it too long. His former teammates saw the star of last year's squad walking their way and said jokingly, "Watch out" as they held each other back.
Yep, this was Crosby's return to Kaneland's baseball field, where a year earlier, scouts had their radar guns clocking every pitch he threw and observing his every move.
That sort of attention not only affected Crosby, who was later drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the fifth round in last year's amateur draft, but it had a lasting impression on first-year coach Brian Aversa and all of Crosby's teammates and friends.
Aversa had coached varsity-level baseball before coming to Kaneland, but his first year with the Knights was an experience not too many coaches get to deal with in their careers.
On the days Crosby was scheduled to pitch, Aversa estimated he sent one group e-mail to around 200 scouts and coaches and had to field anywhere between 5-20 calls from those same people "just making sure" the lefty was going to throw.
"It definitely was a unique experience and something I'll never forget, but Casey made it easy on everyone," Aversa said. "Everyone felt left out at times, but that was never Casey's intention."
Left out, sure, but teammates were never jealous of the attention. Team chemistry was never an issue. The Knights never resented Crosby for what was happening.
"(Last year) was definitely a lot of fun with Casey and my older brother (Kit)," said fellow left-handed pitcher Cody Crook. "I definitely learned a lot from Casey as far as leadership goes."
"Casey was wonderful about everything," added Brian Claesson, Kaneland's catcher who was also responsible for catching Crosby's hard-throwing pitches last year. "He did everything he could to make it easy for us."
As for all those hands holding radar guns behind the backstop?
"It was a distraction, but by the end of the year, we were all used to it," Claesson said.
To prepare for the madness, Aversa first sat down with Crosby and his mom, Denise. He also received advice from Casey's advisers and Bill Copp, Crosby's pitching coach and local scout Mike Daughtry.
"They helped me out with what to expect, what to say, what not to say," Aversa said.
"Coach Aversa did a great job for our team and for Casey," Claesson added.
Things ran as smoothly as they could last season, as Crosby was one of the best -- if not the best -- pitcher in the state. The area had never seen such a highly-touted pitcher, who was named the Daily Herald's All-Area captain after finishing his senior season 6-2 with a pair of saves, an ERA of 0.88 and 92 strikeouts in 63¿ innings pitched.
He was also a force at the plate, as he was responsible for several game-winning hits, leading the Knights to an 18-14 overall record and 11-10 in the Western Sun Conference -- both school records.
"When we had Casey on the mound, we were 99 percent sure we were going to win because high school hitters struggled against him," Crook said.
With Crosby's bat and arm gone this year, the Knights have had to depend on every single player this year, not just one superstar.
Aversa has a rare 5 lefty pitchers to choose from and anyone in the lineup can do good things.
Through Tuesday's games, the Knights are 3-3 and handed Geneva its first loss of the season after leadoff man Jay Levita's game-winning 2-run hit in a game that began the Thursday Crosby came to visit and continued Monday after the game was called due to rain.
Crosby, who is currently recovering from Tommy John surgery, was in town for just a few days from Florida, where the Tigers held spring training. He spent Thursday at the high school visiting his former classmates before making his guest appearance before the game against the Vikings.
"He hasn't changed at all," said Crook, who said he talks to Crosby on the phone twice a week.
Some of the Knights tried to get Crosby to sit with them in the dugout during Thursday's game, but Crosby didn't go. He couldn't stay much longer. He said he had to watch his sister play soccer.
Crosby said his good-byes and was on his way. After he left, the Knights resumed like the way they have all season -- without him.