Raul Casanova played hard, saw majors over nine seasons
A top prospect in the Padres system, some in the San Diego offices thought catcher Raul Casanova could go for a major league starting job the next year, The Birmingham Post-Herald wrote in July 1995.
For Casanova, though, he was content to focus on what he could do then.
"I'm glad they say that," Casanova, then a member of the AA Memphis Chicks, told The Post-Herald. "It shows they believe in me. But what I have to do is play hard here, and improve everything, hitting and defense."
Casanova did make the majors the next year, with the Tigers after a trade. He then went on to see the majors over nine seasons, seeing as many as 101 games in a season.
Casanova's career began in 1990, taken by the Mets in the eighth round of the draft out of Ponce High School in Puerto Rico.
Casanova started with the Mets in the rookie Gulf Coast League. He got into 23 games and hit .077.
He made rookie Kingsport in 1992, then moved to the Padres in a trade and played 1993 at single-A Waterloo. He made AA Memphis in 1995, then Detroit after another trade in 1996.
Casanova made his major league debut for the Tigers in May 1996, going 0 for 4.
"The first inning I batted, I was kind of nervous," Casanova told The Detroit Free Press afterward. "After that, everything was normal. It was fun."
Casanova got into 25 games for the Tigers that year and hit .242, with four home runs. He returned for 101 games in 1997 and hit .243, with five home runs.
That June in 1997, Casanova spoke to The Ann Arbor News about working to stay in the majors.
"I've got to work harder now than ever," Casanova told The News. "It's easy to get to the big leagues. It's harder to stay. I want to be here. I'm hungry. I want to be one of the best catchers in the big league."
Casanova saw 16 games in 1998, then made it back for 86 games with the Brewers in 2000 and 71 there in 2001.
He saw 33 between the Brewers and Orioles in 2002, six with the White Sox in 2005 and then 29 with Tampa Bay in 2007 and 20 final games with the Mets in 2008 to end his career.
Casanova continued playing in Mexico and Puerto Rico through 2010-11.
- Birmingham Post-Herald, July 14, 1995: Plenty of time for Casanova
- Detroit Free Press, May 25, 1996: Casanova is new catcher in roster shakeup
- Ann Arbor News, June 28, 1997: Catcher catches Bell's attention
Made the Majors:1,472-31.8%-X
Never Made Majors:3,163-68.2%