Casey Mize, one of the Detroit Tigers' top prospects, is running out of patience.
"He's itchin' to go," Jason Mize, Casey's father, said. "He's ready to go and be out with his friends and ready to play ball. He's like any 23-year-old would be. He's ready to get back on a baseball field and get back to work."
Amen to that.
I don't think you can find a Tigers fan, much less any sports fan, who wouldn't agree with him. Everybody is itchin' for sports to return.
"He can't wait to get back to Lakeland or wherever they end up," Jason said. "I think he and (his wife) Tali want to get back to Lakeland right now."
When Major League Baseball shut down because of the coronavirus crisis, Mize moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he has been working out every day. "They just opened up his training facility, so he's able to go to the training facility every day now," Jason said. "That's been real good."
During spring training, it appeared Mize would start the season at Triple-A Toledo. It didn't take much imagination to think he would make his debut at some point this season in Detroit. But nothing is certain now because of the coronavirus.
"It kind of stinks for him more than anything," Jason said. "Of course we want him to get to Detroit, that's what he's worked for his whole life. Our main thing is for him to stay healthy and keep progressing. I think he's doing everything he can to be ready."
But now everything is up in the air. And Jason is quick to point out he doesn't know what is going to happen. Nobody does.
"Where I used to be the coach and involved and advice giver, Casey's baseball IQ is so much higher than mine," Jason said. "The time I'm with him now, I try to limit my baseball conversation with him and try to be more of just dad now."
During spring training, I decided to try something different. I wanted to profile the Tigers top three pitching prospects _ Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning _ through their fathers because they can tell the story behind the story.
And yes, Jason is, as he says, just a dad now.
But Mize wouldn't have gotten to this point without his father.
Because Jason has been the driving force behind Mize.
Quite literally.
