‘Appreciate your gifts’: Crosby brings new perspective to the Cougars
At 36, pitcher Casey Crosby is the oldest player on the Kane County Cougars. His younger teammates joke about the age discrepancy, but Crosby owns another number, one that flashes on the radar gun when he unleashes his fastball.
The digits quiet the verbal jabs in no time.
“It’s hard for them to joke about me being old when I’m throwing as hard as I am,” Crosby said.
After four years of retirement, Crosby is back in professional baseball with 97-mph velocity and a newfound perspective. After over a decade chasing a dream in the minor leagues, Crosby is back on the grind, albeit coupled with an office job and a different goal in mind.
“Enjoying the game for the game that it is,” Crosby said. “What it can provide people for fun and entertainment.”
Crosby hails from Maple Park and was a fifth-round draft pick out of Kaneland High School in 2007. After four seasons playing for the Detroit Tigers’ minor-league affiliates, Crosby earned a call-up to The Show in 2012, starting three games for Detroit and earning a win.
Crosby pitched the next two seasons in Triple-A before elbow joint injuries and bone spurs kept him sidelined for two seasons. From 2017-20, he spent time between the Minnesota Twins’ affiliated teams and independent ball before walking away.
“I told myself ‘I have a family, I need to provide for them,'” Crosby said. “I can’t be doing it, playing (independent) ball and making less than minimum wage.”
A husband and father of four children, Crosby obtained a master’s degree in accounting from Northern Illinois University, and became a Certified Public Accountant in 2022.
“It was a big adjustment, not only to the work, but instead of being physically exhausted, I’m more mentally exhausted when the day is done,” Crosby said.
Last summer, Crosby got a job at a real estate firm in St. Charles. He went to a Cougars game with his family, where he was drawn back to the diamond.
“It took me back to hanging out with my teammates and the fun we had, the camaraderie we had competing,” Crosby said. “So all that rushed back to me without any of the stress of performing to get to the next level.”
After discussions with his wife and work, Crosby began training that offseason. He said he knew he could compete again if he could break 90 mph. By his second bullpen off the mound, the lefty touched 94. With restored belief, Crosby reached out to Cougars manager George Tsamis in the spring.
Crosby said he’s grateful to still throw hard, but more so to perform in front of family, friends and co-workers. He heads straight to the field after work, a welcome reprieve from staring at his computer for most of the day. Road games involve working at the hotel, not to mention hourslong bus rides to Winnipeg and Sioux Falls. Yet Crosby has no regrets about committing to dual lifestyles.
His comeback produced instant results when he struck out the first batter he faced. Working as a reliever this season, Crosby is 2-3 through Saturday with 26 strikeouts and two saves in 20 innings.
Crosby has “no idea” how long he wants to keep up this new routine and said he will reassess at season’s end. For now, he wants to be a role model for his teammates, but not necessarily because he made the big leagues. Rather, he’s lived life without baseball.
“We’re athletes, we’re competitors, we’re all goal-oriented,” Crosby said. “But if you can have the perspective to take a step back and really appreciate your gifts, what you offer, and you’re able to play the game that you love. That’s what I try to instill in them, how awesome this is to do.”