Morristown's Grimm looks to make an impact with Cardinals

Abstract

Morristown's Grimm looks to make an impact with Cardinals By Joe Hofmann and Jane Havsy Daily Record Casey Grimm didn't have to go very far to become a professional baseball player.

Morristown's Grimm looks to make an impact with Cardinals

By Joe Hofmann

and Jane Havsy

Daily Record

Casey Grimm didn't have to go very far to become a professional baseball player. Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals, Grimm was assigned to the short-season single-A team in Augusta.

The Morristown native began his career with the New Jersey Cardinals against the Hudson Valley Renegades in Fishkill, N.Y. on Tuesday night. Grimm will make his Skylands Park debut Wednesday, again versus Hudson Valley.

"All my buddies would love to be there to watch the game,"he said. "Hopefully they won't get me into any trouble. It will be great for my family."

Grimm is just the second player from Morris County to wear a Cardinals uniform. Pitcher Shaun Stokes, who was All-Area for Jefferson in the late 1990s, pitched for the Cardinals three years ago.

Grimm is joined by two other New Jersey natives in Zach Smithlin (Fair Lawn High School) and Mark Michael (Gloucester Catholic) on the current Cardinals' roster.

"We're excited to get another Morris County player,"assistant general manager Herm Sorcher said. "When we put together our season, having kids like Casey is gravy for us. We're looking to get people to our stadium and if people want to see a local player like him, that's awesome.

"We may have a Morristown day or a Seton Hall day or both. We get excited about things like that."

A left-handed batter who throws righty, Grimm led the Pirates with a .370 batting average and hit a career-high 10 home runs.

He also led the team with 57 hits and 40 runs scored, and tied for the team lead with 13 doubles.

His 34 RBIs were second on the Pirates.

Grimm was first-team All-Big East after leading the league with seven home runs and a .700 slugging percentage.

Grimm became Seton Hall's all-time hits leader with a two-run homer in the second-to-last game of his college career, passing Newton product Jim Duffy.

Grimm finished with 250 career hits in 207 games for coach Mike Sheppard, Sr.

Grimm's career batting average was .361, eighth-best in school history.

"That's the one part I never worried about with him," said Brian Grimm, Casey's father. "I knew he could hit. He's been hitting balls since he was 3."

Grimm was scouted and signed by Parsippany resident Joe Rigoli, who did the same for current St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Matt Morris out of Seton Hall University in 1995. After being picked in the 33rd round of the First-Year Player Draft on June 4, Grimm reported to a rookie evaluation session in Jupiter, Fla. before being assigned to the New Jersey Cardinals.

"I'm still going to play to the best of my ability," said Grimm, an outfielder who learned to play first base during his senior year. "It's definitely a bonus from here on out. There's no disappointment. It's going to be fun."