When Triston Casas was about 6 years old, he watched his dad get arrested during a Little League game. But he was taught a valuable lesson that day — and it’s one he hasn’t forgotten.
The Red Sox first baseman was interviewed by ESPN during Boston’s “Sunday Night Baseball” game against the New York Yankees. With Sunday being Father’s Day, Casas shared the story from that night that resulted in child services getting called.
Casas recalled that he was on the bench crying because he didn’t want to play defense during his Little League game after he was called out while playing offense. That’s when his dad came into the dugout and made sure his son was going to be on the field.
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“So my dad, being the dad that he is trying to teach me the lessons that he did in his own special way, came into the dugout, he actually grabbed me by my shirt, dragged me to the line and ‘Looney Tunes’ style kicked me out onto the field,” Casas said on ESPN. “And actually had one of my best friends that I went to high school with later, he ended up playing pro ball, his mom actually called child services on my dad and had him arrested at the field. I see my dad go away in the cop car, gets arrested and he spends the night in jail.”
Despite the chaos, Casas learned a “super valuable lesson that day that not a lot of people know.”
“It’s that I had a responsibility to my teammates. I had a responsibility to my coaches, to the parents that showed up that day, all the fans who were at that Little League game, to go out there and give my best effort no matter how I was feeling on the bench,” he said. “No matter what I was going through that day, or whatever little hardship that I was feeling when I got out there. I still apply every single time because sometimes I just want to sit down on this bench after I get out, and I want to weep and I want to cry. But that’s not how baseball works.”
Casas has been around his teammates since suffering a rib injury that landed him on the 60-day injured list. He’s been making progress in his rehab and is eligible to come off the IL on June 21. But a July return seems to be more realistic.
Even though Casas was young when his dad got arrested, it’s still something that stuck with Casas because of what it taught him and how it shaped him to be a better teammate and better ball player.
“I love my dad to death,” Casas said. “I wouldn’t have this opportunity without him.”
