ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — When Sean Casey took over as the Yankees’ hitting coach during the All-Star break, he set out to build relationships on the fly that would help him do his job.
Among other things, Casey quickly found out how reserved DJ LeMahieu is.
“So quiet,” Casey said of the veteran infielder.
Casey tried to use his 12-year big-league playing career to his advantage.
He has gone through what his current players have been going through.
That soon led to a realization.
When Casey spent a season and a half with the Tigers from 2006-2007, LeMahieu was a senior in high school, just outside of Detroit.
Suddenly, Casey had one more way to relate to LeMahieu, who had the Yankees’ only two hits Saturday in a 3-0 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field.
“It’s so funny, I was talking to his dad after one of the games and he’s like, ‘Yeah, we’re from Detroit,’ ” Casey said before the game. “I’m like, ‘No way, get out of here!’ So one day I grabbed [LeMahieu] and I was like, ‘Dude, I didn’t know you were a Tigers fan.’ He’s like, ’06 Tigers, I was at a lot of those games.’ I was telling him some Jim Leyland stories, kind of going back and forth.
“So that was another [tie]. At the end of the day, this life is about relationships, especially being a hitting coach. Any time you can gain a relationship with the guys, you gain trust. That Detroit relationship is kind of cool.”
It has paid dividends for LeMahieu, who has looked more like the hitter of old since Casey took over. After he had a slash line of .220/.285/.357 in 76 games before the All-Star break, LeMahieu entered Saturday with a slash line of .311/.423/.476 in 30 second-half games.
That included a two-home run game Friday in the Yankees’ win over the Rays, LeMahieu’s first multi-homer game since 2021.
LeMahieu has worked with Casey on quickening up some of his lower-half mechanics, but there has also been a mental component to the process.
“I relate to [Casey] really well,” LeMahieu said. “He was a really good hitter, so I just really enjoy talking hitting with him.”
Casey said he wanted to let LeMahieu be LeMahieu, knowing that the 35-year-old was too good of a hitter to stay in a slump forever.
“One thing with great hitters is the back of the baseball card doesn’t lie,” said Casey, a career .302 hitter. “DJ LeMahieu is not going to hit .210 for a season. The guy, if you watch him work, he’s meticulous with his work in the cages. Everything he does has a reason behind it. With a guy like that that’s won a batting title in both leagues, you know he’s eventually going to get the feels that he needs.
“I think the biggest thing with DJ or any of these guys is just to be there for them, to gain their trust and know that I’m here showing up and I’m in it for them,” Casey added. “One thing for me being a [former] player, I’ve been there before. I’ve struggled for halves. I’ve had great years and bad years. I’ve had average years. I know what it’s like to show up when it’s not going great. Just having that relationship has helped me a little bit.”
“A big thing for DJ is being able to find the opposite field opens up the pull side for him. I think that’s what most great hitters do. Great hitters can find that opposite field. Really, you drive the ball better on the pull side when you can do that.”
Getting LeMahieu back to hitting the way he is capable of is essential for the Yankees, especially since the veteran infielder still has three years and $45 million left on his contract after this season.
It remains to be seen whether Casey will stay in his post beyond this year (he and the Yankees plan to reassess at the end of the season), but in the meantime, he at least has his fingerprints on LeMahieu’s turnaround.