Andy Rennecke, arennecke@stcloudtimes.com
The best part of Casey McGehee's summer in St. Cloud was being able to fish whenever he had some down time.
McGehee enjoys talking about the summer of 2001 when he played for the St. Cloud River Bats. Those three-plus months prepared the Florida Marlins infielder for what life was going to be like in the minor leagues.
"I remember that summer being hot as all get out," McGehee said. "On the off days we would go over to the river where one of our guys lived and did a lot of fishing. We had bonfires in the back, too. It was a nice way to unwind and relax."
McGehee is enjoying a career resurgence with the Marlins after spending a year playing in Japan. Coming into Friday's game at San Francisco, McGehee was hitting .288 with a home run and 26 RBI in 41 games.
He's been playing at third base and first base for Florida and routinely hitting cleanup.
"I couldn't pass up the opportunity to play every day when I got the call around Christmas from my agent," McGehee said. "Getting the chance to come home and re-establish myself at the major-league level has been a blessing."
McGehee signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan last year. He helped guide the Golden Eagles to their first Japan Series title while earning $1.5 million.
Playing every day in Japan helped him rediscover his swing after he struggled with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees in 2012. McGehee's best years came in Milwaukee 2009-2011. He hit .285 in 2010 with 23 home runs and 104 RBI for the Brewers.
"It was a great experience to learn a new culture while learning a different way to approach the game," McGehee said. "I had to rebuild my confidence over there. That league is the second-best in the world and it's nothing to take lightly. The competition is everything you'd want it to be.
"I wasn't ready to be a bench player, that's why I went over there. I wanted to stay here, that's what would have happened. I wanted to play every day and that was appealing to me."
Pat Shine, who managed the Bats in 1999, just missed McGehee in St. Cloud. He's a coach and video replay reviewer for the Marlins this season.
He's glad to share that bond with McGehee.
"I didn't realize he was a River Bat until we started talking about it about a month ago," Shine said. "We've had some good talks about St. Cloud. It's cool that we're here now together. We both had a special and unique experience in St. Cloud. That's brought us closer together here in Florida."
McGehee, who played collegiately at Fresno State, played with Curtis Granderson with the Yankees in 2012. Granderson played in the Northwoods League with Mankato. They talked often about their time in Minnesota.
"We remembered playing against each other that summer in 2001," McGehee said. "We enjoyed talking about the good old days. It was a good experience just to meet other guys from across the country and play with some guys who normally you wouldn't be around.
"It was a neat experience and a good intro to what the minor leagues were going to be like with playing every day."
The River Bats made the NWL championship series that summer, but lost to Waterloo. McGehee enjoyed playing with Tony Arnerich and Wes Long, in particular. He also said he'd be open to returning to St. Cloud to check out a Rox game when his career is over.
"We were a pretty good team," he said. "We had a couple of guys who made the minors. We've lost touch over the years, but I ran into Tony in the minors a few times. We played against each other a couple of times, which was kind of weird for me. It's a small world."