Former Reds’ first baseman Sean Casey will be among the next three players inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

No word on whether or not Casey will be driving his 1995 Honda Accord to the ceremony next June.

Take it away, press release.

Three-time All-Star Sean Casey, Big Red Machine infielder Dan Driessen and 19th century first baseman John Reilly will be the next three players inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Casey was selected by the fans through the Modern Player Ballot presented by Cincyfavorites.com. The Veterans Committee selected Driessen and Reilly to make up the Reds Hall of Fame Class of 2012.

The trio will be honored June 22-24 during Reds Hall of Fame Induction Weekend, which will include on-field ceremonies at Great American Ball Park, the star-studded Hall of Fame Induction Gala and a variety of festivities at the Hall, including meet and greets with Reds Hall of Famers and alumni.

One of the most popular players to ever wear a Reds uniform, Casey came to be known as “The Mayor” during his eight-year Reds career.

A versatile infielder of the Big Red Machine clubs of the 1970s, Dreissen played 12 seasons for the Reds from 1973 to 1984.

A Cincinnati-native and dominant first baseman in the 1880’s, Reilly wore a Reds uniform for his nine-season Major League career and held Reds records for most singles, double, triples, home runs, runs scored, RBI and games played.

Casey was the top vote-getter of the thousands of ballots cast online at RedsMuseum.org, at Great American Ball Park and at participating Skyline Chili and Montgomery Inn locations.

Driessen and Reilly were selected by the Reds Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee, comprised of members of the media, Hall of Famers, historians and Hall of Fame executives.

“Since 1958, the fans have played an integral part in the Hall of Fame election process, and this year was no exception as record participation resulted,” said Reds Hall of Fame Executive Director Rick Walls. “I’d like to thank Cincyfavorites.com, the thousands of fans that voted, and the Veterans Committee for recognizing the contributions of these players.”

The addition of Casey, Driessen and Reilly will bring the Hall’s membership ranks to 75 players, three managers, and three executives.

The folks over at Red Reporter had the chance to interview Sean Casey this week, and instead of asking him about any future singing plans, they took the time to talk about him leaving baseball, joining the MLB Network, and his future plans.

It’s a good little read, and you should give it a look, if for no other reason than to recall what you liked so much about Casey, one of the few bright spots in the aughts.

Casey did drop this little surprise.

Actually I just signed on to do 15 games for the Reds this year as a color guy. I’ll get a chance to get in the booth and see how that goes. I think I’ll be doing the games from April 5 through April 7, and later some games in Pittsburgh and in Cincinnati. We’re still figuring that out.

So be sure to tune in in early April for the Mayor’s debut as a Reds’ broadcaster. It’ll be great to hear his voice and personality again. And you know it’ll have to better than the parade of announcers that have shuffled through the booth the last couple years.

This morning the Cincinnati Reds put up this Facebook post about Sean Casey:

For children with special needs, former Major Leaguer Sean Casey is helping to construct facilities and ballfields in Pennsylvania so kids aren’t left out and can play baseball.

Boy, that takes me back. That Casey: always the nice one. And it also demonstrates how little there is to talk about in Redsland right now if we’re going as far back as the Casey era for conversation. As if this year weren’t already rough enough, content-wise, what with the team being so darn good and all, the holiday season is even rougher without Wayne Krivsky around to make a million terrible trades to bitch about.

I’d rather look forward than back, though, since conjecture is so much easier than analysis. And the next thing on the Reds-related event list for me is the Reds Winter Caravan.

The Caravan will roll through January 27-30, though they haven’t decided which city will be which day or which players, coaches, and administrators will be on each leg of the three legs of the tour, but last year it went like this:

Northern Tour

• Thursday: Marietta OH/Parkersburg WV
• Friday: Athens, OH
• Saturday: Lima, OH
• Sunday: Columbus, OH

Western Tour

• Thursday: Louisville, KY
• Friday: Bloomington, IN and Indianapolis, IN
• Saturday: Muncie, IN and Dayton OH
• Sunday Oxford, OH

Southern Tour

• Thursday: Charleston, WV and Huntington WV
• Saturday: Cincinnati, OH
• Sunday: Lexington, KY

We usually hit the Muncie stop, despite living closer to Indianapolis, and it’s always an event. Muncie remained stoically loyal to the Reds, even when the team ceded Indiana to the Cubs and Cards under the reign of Carl Lindner, but then, Muncie is a place out of time in many ways. I definitely recommend this stop for an excellent visage of a multitude of trucker caps and the hot dog stand that they set up at the back of the dealership for while you’re standing in the autograph line.

Oh, and you can read the rest of the Casey story here.

Former Red and Pirate Sean Casey has signed a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox for $800,000.

I know that Casey never was the prototypical first baseman–hitting for average instead of power, but I always liked him. Heck, who didn’t? Sure, it was easy to get frustrated with him during his grounding-into-double-play phase, but he contributed more than his fair share of good memories to the Reds.

He’s accepting a backup role for the defending world champion Red Sox. Like when he was with the Tigers, it’ll be nice to see a familiar face in the playoffs. And should the worst happen and the Red Sox repeat, at least I can be happy about Casey getting a ring.

When you don a player’s jersey, you are expressing your respect for him as a player and a person, but you’re also saying something about yourself. If you choose to wear #21, you are making a safe choice that no one is likely to question or disagree with. You are expressing your commitment to morality, family values, clean living, and helping your neighbor. If you are taking a child to a ball game (and if you’re wearing Casey’s jersey, you almost certainly are), you could instruct them, if they get lost, to find someone wearing 21 to help them.

If you are a dude wearing a Casey jersey, you are in the minority. You will probably tuck the jersey into your khaki or denim shorts and wear a belt.

If you are a lady wearing a Casey jersey, you are saying that you’re a responsible mom who wants to make the world a better place for her children. You are idealistic about your role as a parent and you’re willing to put in the extra effort to make sure that your little darling gets to piano recitals on time, soccer games with an extra bottle of Gatorade, and plenty of quality time with you at the baseball game. You also may have taken a gay man to the prom.