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OK, maybe not everyone, but it certainly seems like anyone who's ever met him does. Sports Illustrated asked 464 major league players, "Who is the friendliest player in baseball?" Casey, by a landslide, received a whooping 46% of the votes. Jim Thome and Mike Sweeney took second with 7%.

Is it a coincidence that the top three vote-getters were first basemen? I'm guessing not. Think about it: they're the guys who get to spend the most time chatting with the other team when they get on base. Middle infielders rarely spend too much time near their base, and third basemen probably get pretty ornery knowing that there's a good chance the guy on base might score.

But what makes Casey in particular so popular? I'm sure treating the media right goes a long way, helping forge a reputation that gets around. But I think it's more than that; if his actions off the field are any indication, he's just a genuine good guy. From the Boston Herald:

When Sean Casey left Fenway Park following Monday night's game against the Red Sox, the Detroit first baseman didn't return to the team hotel with the rest of the Tigers. Instead, he caught a ride to Lawrence in anticipation of a 6 a.m. wake-up call to prepare to feed the hungry at Cor Unum Meal Center.

The center is run by the Labels Are For Jars organization (labelsareforjars.org) that Casey helped fund and found back in 2001 with his friend, the Rev. Paul O'Brien. The doors opened last autumn, but yesterday marked the first time Casey had been able to be in action and help feed, and then clean up after, more than 75 people.

Seriously, guys like that don't come around all the time.

As for the other question in SI's poll -- "Who is the least friendly player in baseball?" -- I don't think you'll be surprised to see who came out on top: Barry Bonds recorded 26% of the votes, with former teammates Jeff Kent (20%) and A.J. Pierzynski (13%) rounding out the top three. It's worth noting that players were not allowed to vote for their own teammates, and among NL West players, Kent (31.3%) actually topped Bonds (13.6%) by a wide margin.