Casey Blake

William Casey Blake is a professional baseball player currently signed as a third baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born on August 23, 1973 in Des Moines, Iowa.

As an amateur, Blake was drafted several times. He was first drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1992, and in 1995 by the New York Yankees, but both times he chose not to sign, instead opting to attend college at Wichita State University, where he was a three-time All-American, two-time Academic All-American and participated in the College World Series. He batted .320 with 22 home runs and 101 RBIs during his senior year.

He was drafted and joined the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996, making his Major League debut on August 14, 1999 for the Blue Jays.

On May 10, 2009, after hitting a homer off Giants closer Brian Wilson, Blake was caught in the dugout on live television "crossing his forearms and pointing", a gesture Wilson is known to make after a successful close to a game in homage towards his faith in Christianity and his deceased father. Friends of Wilson caught the image on their cellphones and sent them to Wilson, who received the messages after the game was over and reportedly flew into a rage.

When asked about this incident, Blake responds "I didn't intend to mock [Wilson's] father or mean any disrespect by it. All anyone sees is what happened afterward -- I was excited. I hit a big homer. I got out of my box a little bit... Other closers who do certain things on the mound can't deal with it when you do it back to them. It's their deal. I'm not a fan of showboating, and I'm not saying that's what [Wilson] did. Yes, I have some regrets about it, but it wasn't intended to be anything personal. Like I said, it was just me out my box."