"â??Itâ??s something that my father had done,â? Casey says, â??and he pushed it on me. I wasnâ??t too keen on getting my eyeballs messed with at first, but he convinced me to do it. He thought it would help me out in baseball.â?"

"â??I walked up to [Casey] the other day,â? Walsh says. â??I said, â??Case, what is it that youâ??re doing this year thatâ??s so different?â?? He says, â??Coach, I had double Lasik eye surgery in August.â?? Heâ??s a whole different kid.â?"

"â??Itâ??s been a huge change,â? says Casey, who had worn contact lenses since he was 11. â??For me, it was something I had to deal with for so long, itâ??s just great not to have to worry about glasses or contacts anymore. Itâ??s pretty liberating.â?"

"Although nothing like the radical transformation Charlie Sheenâ??s famous â??Wild Thingâ? character experienced in the classic baseball movie â??Major League,â? the history of Harvard baseball players undergoing mid-career optic improvement is more extensive than one would think."

"Last season, Matt Brunnig was fitted for contact lenses on the eve of the Crimsonâ??s climactic doubleheader with the Big Green in Hanover. The lanky senior then went 6-for-13 in the final four games of his collegiate career, highlighted by a 400-foot drive to the depths of Dartmouthâ??s Red Rolfe Fieldâ??s cavernous center field."

"Even further back in the annals, outfielder Brian Ralph â??98 stroked 10 home runs in an injury-shortened senior season after having his vision corrected prior to that spring."

"â??Three kids that Iâ??ve had, and all of the sudden theyâ??ve had late eye changes, and itâ??s a world of difference,â? Walsh says. â??Iâ??m not bright enough to think of those things, but from now on...Iâ??m going to check everybody.â?"

"Caseyâ??s new and improved sight also serves as an apt metaphor for Walshâ??s elevated expectations for his catching corps, which, including senior Justin Roth and junior Matt Kramer, boasts three legitimate veteran options."

"â??Last year, catching was not one of our strengths, offensively and defensively,â? Walsh says. â??I think we were disappointed. This year, we feel it is going to be a strength. Have we changed personnel? No.â?"

"Casey is the groupâ??s leader, having started 25 of the teamâ??s 42 games behind the dish last season. After backing up stalwart Schuyler Mann â??05 for two seasons, the Virginia Beach native assumed regular duties in 2006, hitting .267 but striking out 22 times in 86 at-bats and picking up a mere six RBI."

"â??I had real big expectations after sophomore year,â? Casey says. â??Last year, there were definitely some struggles. I definitely didnâ??t have the year I was hoping to have.â?"

"But Casey did start to come on towards the end of the campaign. He struck his first home run of the season in Harvardâ??s division-clinching 23-9 win over Dartmouth and went 4-for-7 in the teamâ??s season-ending Ivy Championship Series sweep at the hands of Princeton, carrying that momentum into this spring."

"â??[Roth] and Kramer both had tremendous summers,â? Casey says. â??They got a lot of playing time, and theyâ??ve both improved their games dramatically.â?"

"Kramer,
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