major league season was in 1997, in which he finished with a .308 average in 14 games. His final game was on July 13, 1997, against the Minnesota Twins, when Candaele came into the game in the seventh inning to replace Julio Franco at second base, with his final at bat resulting in a fly out to left field in the ninth inning of a 12–5 win. He also played 79 games for the Bisons in the 1997 season, finishing with a .228 batting average. He then continued playing for another three seasons, shuffling around the minors, retiring after the 2000 season. Coaching career The Seattle Mariners hired Candaele as their first base coach during the 2015–16 offseason. After the 2017 season, he joined the Toronto Blue Jays organisation, initially manager of the Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays on January 10, 2018. After one season in Dunedin, the organisation moved him to Class A Short Season Vancouver Canadians. During the long offseason between the 2019 and 2021 seasons (no minor league seasons in 2020), the Blue Jays assigned Candaele as manager for their AAA club, the Buffalo Bisons, for the 2021 season. The Blue Jays promoted Candaele to become their major league bench coach on July 13, 2022. Nickname Houston Astros Hall of Fame announcer Milo Hamilton called Candaele "Mighty Mite" for his aggressive play despite his diminutive size. Personal life Casey's brother is filmmaker Kelly Candaele, whose PBS documentary about the AAGPBL led to the creation of the 1992 film A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall. His mother Helen Callaghan, one of the best players in the league's history, won a batting title while collecting a .257 batting average and 354 stolen bases in her 388-game career over five seasons. References External links Baseball Gauge Retrosheet Venezuelan Professional Baseball League 1961 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona Wildcats baseball players Baseball players from California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) managers Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Calgary Cannons players Cleveland Indians players Houston Astros players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Suns players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball second basemen Memphis Chicks players Montreal Expos players Nashua Pride players Nashville Sounds players New Orleans Zephyrs players People from Lompoc, California Seattle Mariners coaches Tucson Toros players University of Arizona alumni West Palm Beach Expos players Anchorage