Syracuse, N.Y. - Le Moyne College Head Baseball Coach Steve Owens announced on Friday, September 3 the hiring of Scott Cassidy '98 as assistant coach and pitching coach.
Cassidy, a member of the San Diego Padres West Division title team in 2005, returns to Le Moyne after a 10-year professional career and one season as the head baseball coach at Sullivan Community College. Cassidy replaces Pete Hoy, who was promoted to the athletic department's Director of Internal Operations over the summer, in charge of developing the Dolphins' pitching staff.
Cassidy began his professional career in 1998 after playing three seasons for the Dolphins. Cassidy signed with the Toronto Blue Jays on May 21, 1998 as an amateur free agent. He worked his way through the Blue Jays minor league system - picking up league All-Star honors in 1998, 2000 and 2001 - and earned a spot on Toronto's opening day roster for the 2002 season. He made his Major League debut against the Boston Red Sox on April 1, 2002, throwing one and two-thirds scoreless innings. Cassidy appeared in 58 games for the Blue Jays in 2002, posting a 1-4 record with 48 strikeouts in 66 innings pitched. After spending the 2003 season with the Syracuse SkyChiefs (Toronto's AAA affiliate), where he went 3-4 with a 3.24 earned run average and 75 strikeouts in 80 and two-thirds innings pitched over 57 appearances, Cassidy was traded to the Boston Red Sox at the beginning of the 2004 season. In 28 appearances, including 12 starts, for Boston's top affiliate, Pawtucket, Cassidy posted a record of 5-3 with a 3.46 earned run average and 72 strikeouts over 80 and two-thirds innings pitched. Cassidy began the 2005 campaign with Pawtucket, going 6-3 with a 4.05 earned run average and 66 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched over 26 appearances before earning a promotion to Boston, where he made one appearance with the Red Sox.
Just over a week after making his Red Sox debut, Cassidy was traded to the San Diego Padres, where he split the remainder of the 2005 season between AAA Portland and San Diego. With Portland, Cassidy was inserted into the closer's role, where he registered 11 saves, a 1.89 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched over 17 appearances. Following the completion of Portland's season, Cassidy joined the Padres for their run to the West division title. In 10 appearances out of San Diego's bullpen, Cassidy compiled a record of 1-1 and 12 strikeouts over 12 and one-third innings pitched. In 2006, Cassidy pitched in 42 games for the Padres, recording a 6-4 record, a 2.53 ERA and 49 strikeouts in 42.2 innings pitched. He also made 17 appearances for Portland, going 3-1 with nine saves, a 2.70 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 20 innings. Cassidy completed his professional career in 2007, registering a 4-4 record, 10 saves and 49 strikeouts in 40 innings over 40 appearances for Portland.
In three seasons with the Dolphins, Cassidy made 33 appearances and went 14-12 with one save, a 3.44 ERA and 153 strikeouts over 186 innings pitched. He also posted a program-record 18 complete games and four shutouts, good for second-best in the program's Division I history. Cassidy's strikeout total of 153 places him ninth in career annals. In 1998, Cassidy was selected as the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year after going 7-5 with a 3.06 ERA and 83 strikeouts and leading the Dolphins to a 26-15 record, including a 20-6 mark in conference play.
Cassidy, a dean's list student in 1996 and 1997, is a 1998 graduate of Le Moyne, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Marketing.
Owens also announced the hiring to Corey O'Neill '08 as a graduate assistant. O'Neill, who recently finished his first season with the Texarkana Gunslingers of the independent Continental Baseball League, recorded a .293 career batting average in 145 games played with the Dolphins. As a senior, O'Neill registered a .330 batting average, with 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 46 runs scored and 48 runs batted in as a starter in all 54 games played. With the Gunslingers, O'Neill hit .329 with 19 doubles, 40 runs scored and 43 runs batted in.
