The baseball journey of new Crusaders coach Chris Casey currently has him leading a team which took the Olympic League by storm this year.

By Brandon HENSLEY

Casey isn’t at the bat anymore. Instead, far removed from his playing days at Crescenta Valley High School, he’s hopping from station to station on a secluded field in Tujunga, leading drills not for the Mudville Nine – rather his Village Christian Crusaders, this season’s champions of the Olympic League.

You can see how motivated, how kinetic, he is in part because that’s how he says he always is – “I have more energy than five people” is just one of his refrains on the day – but maybe in part because, for the first time in his long coaching career, this is really his team.

Chris Casey, former outfielder and designated hitter for the Falcons in mid-to late 1970s, is always on the go. He could walk with that Johnny Cash song trailing him as his theme, and it would fit perfectly. His coaching resume includes assistant positions at the following stops: Glendale High School, his alma mater Crescenta Valley, Glendale College, Bellarmine-Jefferson, La Salle and now the small, tucked-away school in Sun Valley.

Sing along to Johnny: He’s been everywhere, man.

Now he has his Crusaders (20-5, 10-2 in league) ready to battle a tough Simi Valley squad (23-6, 10-2 in the Coastal League) on Friday at Tujunga Little League Field at 3:15 p.m. It may be the first, and last, CIF Division II playoff game of the season for Village, but Casey is telling his players not to worry about that.

“It’s another game,” he said. “Go out there, play hard, don’t fear anyone.”

He said many coaches and people with knowledge of the team told him he was in for a rough go in his first season as head coach, replacing Matt Whisenant. You won’t be able to pitch, or hit, and Maranatha will win league. Just take your lumps, they told him.

So much for that. The Crusaders have defied expectations by scrapping out runs and leading the league in ERA.

“We’re not huge. We’re not big,” said junior pitcher Eric Oseguera, who leads the league in wins (nine) and ERA (0.51). “We don’t hit home runs. We just kind of play small ball. We get hits here and there.”

Oseguera, who is expected to get the start on Friday, is one of many on the team who have stepped up in the absence of six seniors who contributed to a 22-win campaign in 2016. Sophomore Tobais Plotkin is second in ERA at 0.51, and he might play first base even better than he pitches, according to Casey. Plotkin said he wasn’t surprised this team captured a league title, despite what many thought.

“It was a little hard at first, but we have a lot of good players now,” said Plotkin, who goes by the nickname Nacho. If you’re queasy over queso, skip down to the next paragraph. On Plotkin’s first day of workouts as a freshman, he threw up his nacho lunch from hours before. The stomach-turning memory has stuck to him like hot cheese, but he doesn’t mind. The team is close and chemistry is solid.

Shortstop Connor Rodrigues, slated to play for LMU next season, noted just how many guys have gone above and beyond, including Josh Argarin, who didn’t play at all last season due to a serious illness. Argarin had to start from scratch to rebuild his strength and playing abilities. He led the team with a .470 batting average.

“He has not really talked about it but he was huge, especially because he came back from sickness last year,” Rodrigues said. “We didn’t expect him to be back to anywhere near what he is.”

As for Casey, players say he’s helped keep the team together. He’s a coach who loves to be in his players’ business, a far cry from the laid back attitude of Whisenant.

“He’s a stickler. He’s super strict,” Rodrigues said. “But he’s a funny guy. Matt was more laid back; let the players do their thing. Casey will hold your hand, make sure you do things right.”

That kind of mindset sounds familiar if you talk to Crescenta Valley coaches enough. Do things the right way, hold yourself the way a true Falcon would. It’s not lost on Casey, who gives credit to past and present CV coaches such as Ken Biermann, John Goffredo, Dennis Gossard and Phil Torres.

“Phil Torres has one of the best programs in Southern California,” Casey said. “He’s phenomenal. From parental involvement to how he takes care of Stengel Field to his organization, he’s got a lot of pride and discipline. I learned tremendously from him.”

Casey used to work for the LAPD at Internal Affairs. He saw the worst of people at that job, which means he wants to see the best come out of young men who can still be molded.

At the end of practice, the team repeats a mantra, the one that’s written on a white board in the office: Another day closer to a championship. Casey admits this playoff bracket is a doozy, but again, nothing matters but how his guys conduct themselves. The good coaches don’t just worry about the scoreboard of the game, but also the scoreboard of life.

“I care about people. I care about these kids. My goal is to see every one of those kids be productive members of society, and be good dads in the future, be role models,” he said. “I hold them accountable. That’s something we talk about.”

  Brandon Hensley, Marti FIER