Casad a Leghorn product

Giant signee Cooper Casad learned much of his baseball playing for the Petaluma Leghorn American Legion team.|

Perhaps Cooper Casad’s most important stop on his unlikely journey to professional baseball is one that has received very little notice.

As Lori Carter reported in The Press Democrat, Casad recently signed a free-agent contract with the San Francisco Giants and has been assigned to the Arizona Instructional League. A pitcher, Casad never played high school baseball. He graduated from Summerfield Waldorf, which does not have a baseball program.

It was right after graduation that Casad’s real baseball education began when he was picked up by Casey Gilroy for the Petaluma Leghorns American Legion team.

Rod Moore, the Leghorns’ general manager recalls, “It was Casey who nursed Cooper an inning at a time through his first year, and then recommended that he go to College of Marin to expand his baseball skills.”

Gilroy remembers Casad as a player “who always wanted the baseball. He was always ready to go,” the Leghorn coach recalled.

Casad did go on to College of Marin and also played for the Healdsburg Prune Packers under the guidance of former Casa Grande High School standout Joey Gomes.

Casad was never drafted, but in June he got a call from the Giants offering him a chance. He jumped at the opportunity.

Casad isn’t the only former Leghorn currently playing professionally. Anthony Bender, a former Casa Grande pitcher/shortstop, is playing in the Rangers organization, and Ryan Haug, an outstanding catcher from Rancho Cotate High, is in the Pirates organization.

Through the years, there have been other professional former Leghorns and several dugouts full of players who have received college scholarships, many to D1 schools.

What sets Gilroy apart from many coaches working with top players hoping to advance beyond high school is his interest in each player as an individual.

While there is a natural tendency among players to see visions of diamond utopia when “D1” flashes before their eyes, Gilroy takes the time to steer them toward a proper fit. He has connections with many college coaches and the experience to recognize where players would fit.

The truth is that to step from high school to D1 baseball is a huge leap. Not everyone is a Spencer Torkelson. Often, what is best for a player is a year or two in a junior college before they are ready for the next step. Sometimes, a year as a redshirt at JC is the best path to future success.

The grind of a two-month summer season of playing every day for the Leghorns is often the best preparation a young player can get for what he will face in college.

With travel ball, showcase tournaments and other options, American Legion isn’t as popular as it once was, but the Leghorns still play quality baseball.

What I especially like about the Leghorns is that the team is composed of recognizable players - players we have followed from Little League through high school.

They also form a team with definite goals. They have an opportunity to advance to state and on to the nationals.

Incidentally, the state tournament, should the Leghorns make the grade by finishing first or second in the area tournament, will again be played at the Yountville Veterans Home, the best baseball venue this side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

A visit, wjth the added attraction of the seriously enthusiastic residents, is worth the traffic hassle.

Besides, the snack bar, with beer on tap and the best soft ice cream in the state, or at least in wine country, is a real treat.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com.)

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