JUPITER, Fla. (KMOX) - If you happened to be at Busch Stadium when the Miami Marlins came to town last year, you may have seen a couple of young fans playing catch from their seats with a Marlins player. Well, let us introduce you to Austin Dean.
The 26-year-old says that was a regular act for him in the big leagues and he's ready to continue it in a Cardinals uniform this year.
"For me, I like having full and interacting with all the fans," Dean says. "It makes a kid's day and like we're there for the kids man. That's how I feel and if I can just take five minutes out of my time, why not. I play for the excitement of the fans, like that's what motivates me to do well every day. And just from what I've heard is that Cardinals have the best fans in all of baseball and I'm just looking forward to just being a part of that at Busch Stadium."
In his 98 games with the Marlins the last two years, Dean has hit .225 with a .656 OPS. His experience is mostly in the outfield but has beeing taking reps at first base as well this spring.