Sean Casey walks away from two-month trial as Yankees hitting coach

Welp. Guess being a hitting coach wasn't Sean Casey's immediate destiny, after he was plucked from MLB Network and installed in the Yankees' dugout following the All-Star break.

Casey, an affable 49-year-old and 12-year MLB veteran, had a great pedigree and communication skills without much experience when he took the gig by his old teammate Aaron Boone's side, and elicited plenty of laughter. After all, the Yankees abandoned their patented system, led by Dillon Lawson, to hire a vibes guy. That's going to elicit mockery.

Unfortunately, Casey announced on Wednesday that the team must go back to the drawing board yet again for 2024. He will not be returning to the team, citing "family reasons" on his "The Mayors Office" podcast.

Damn. We thought that was only an excuse you could use when you didn't want to be the Red Sox GM.

Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey leaves team

According to end-of-season buzz, both Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone asked Casey to return to the gig next season. It appears to have taken several weeks for word of his decline to reach the general public.

Was Casey a success in 2.5 months at the helm? The Yankees got more patient (as they repeatedly bragged about), Gleyber Torres changed his approach, and DJ LeMahieu woke up a little bit. Ultimately, though, the numbers barely changed, and worsened in most cases. The 2023 Yankees, as constructed, were under-qualified to hit the baseball. Casey's positive attitude couldn't fundamentally alter that.

Luckily, even though he's out of the dugout, he'll only be a phone call away for stars like Torres, LeMahieu and Aaron Judge, who reportedly valued his presence. The Yankees' search for their next hitting instructor should span far and wide and be based on more than just hitting strikes hard or poised patience. Said hitting coach should also be provided a more fearsome lineup than the righty-heavy poison sandwich Yankee fans were forced to watch flub with their clubs in 2023.