Sean Casey is at the bat, and he understands that he also is on the clock.
The Yankees’ new hitting coach knows he was brought in as Dillon Lawson’s replacement to hit the ground running and jump-start one of the worst and most confounding offenses in the major leagues this season when the second half commences Friday at Colorado.
The Yankees, who are batting just .231 as a team, have 71 games remaining after they went 49-42 before the All-Star break, leaving them one game out of a wild-card position in the American League.
“I think I have to come in hot and firing,” Casey said Wednesday on a Zoom call. “If I’m hiring me, if I’m [general manager] Brian Cashman, if I’m [general partner] Hal Steinbrenner, I want to bring in somebody right now that could come in and make an impact.
“You’re right, there are 70-some games [left] and we gotta get going.”
The 49-year-old Casey was a teammate of Yankees manager Aaron Boone with the Reds from 1998-2003 and was a .302 lifetime hitter over 12 big league seasons, but he has no prior coaching experience at this level.
He confirmed that his contract is only for the remainder of this season and will be revisited in the offseason.
“I’m not crazy enough to think that I’m gonna come in and all of a sudden, all nine guys are gonna start hitting, because Sean Casey has arrived,” Casey said. “But I think collectively as a team, every guy’s got to look at themselves and say, ‘What do I need to do to get going? What do I need to do to get hot?’
“We’re going to figure out a way to get these guys going as a unit, as a team. We’ve got a 70-something game sprint, and we’re going to be ready for it.”
Casey said the first Yankee he reached out to after his hiring was announced on Monday was injured slugger Aaron Judge.
“That was a big conversation for me,” he said, “just to get the heartbeat of what’s going on with the guys, because he’s obviously the leader and I really wanted to hear what he had to say and what his thoughts were with the offense.”
The three-time All-Star said he also has spoken with slumping veterans Josh Donaldson and Anthony Rizzo, plus Harrison Bader and homegrown players such as Gleyber Torres, Anthony Volpe and Kyle Higashioka.
Lawson, who never played in the majors, had come through the Yankees minor-league system with many of those in the latter group.
Still, Casey cited several hitting coaches he worked with during his career — including former Yankees Ken Griffey Sr. and Chris Chambliss with the Reds and ex-Met Dave Magadan with the Red Sox — as a reason to believe his track record as a big league hitter can have an impact.
“I feel like a lot of guys that I crossed paths with that had been in the big leagues, I know that for me, that gave me some comfort,” Casey said.
Without offering specifics on individual players, Casey said he believes he “100 percent” can help kick-start Boone’s laggard everyday lineup, which also features former All-Stars Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu.
“I’ve been there … I’ve had those struggles and I know I’m gonna be able to tap into these guys and get their talent out,” Casey said. “We’re too talented. This team’s too talented and loaded with professional hitters.
“I always think the back of the baseball card doesn’t lie. Eventually we’re gonna figure out a way to get it going, and I feel like I’m the right guy to tap into these guys and get us hot in the second half.”
Casey also believes his time as an analyst at MLB Network has helped him better understand analytics.
“I do think you can’t just in this game come out as an old-school guy,” he said. “I will come and do it with my old-school approach, but also the new-school approach of analytics. You’d be crazy not to take the information. … I think I’d be crazy not to use the resources that are going to be put right in my lap.”
Casey, known as “The Mayor” for his gregarious personality, also joked that he’s working on growing a mustache because Don Mattingly was his childhood idol.
“I’m just excited to be a part of this organization, man,” Casey said. “When you’re playing Major League Baseball, but also as a kid … there’s not one moment where you don’t think, ‘Man, I’d love to be in the pinstripes.’
“The history, the storied franchise, all the players, to have an opportunity to wear the pinstripes is just a dream for any player in this industry. And to have this opportunity, this unique opportunity for the second half on a team that I feel like has a great shot to win the World Series. … I mean, that’s the ultimate goal.”
