Seoane Seoane Right At Home With FSL's T-Yanks By JOEY JOHNSTON jjohnston@tampatrib.com For most of his baseball life, Mitch Seoane has packed his belongings in February and headed to Cactus League spring training. Later, it was off to distant outposts in the Midwest League, California League, Texas League or Pacific Coast League. This season has been different. Seoane, manager of the Class A Tampa Yankees in the Florida State League, now works at Legends Field. That's five minutes from his home. His father, Manuel, attends each home game and sits behind home plate. Afterward, Seoane can go to dinner with longtime buddies. "The Yankees really treat their players and people well, so it's a privilege to be here," said Seoane, 41, who played second base on Tampa Catholic's Class 3A state championship team in 1979. "It's all about winning here. We want to develop players and send them higher in the system. But the organization really wants to win at all levels and that's our goal, too." That's evident when visiting the Legends Field clubhouse. As players head for the dugout, they see a large quote from Gen. Douglas MacArthur: Tribune photo by MARK GUSS Tampa Yankees manager Mitch Seoane played on Tampa Catholic's state championship team in 1979. "There Is No Substitute For Victory." So far, so good. The Yankees won the first-half title in the FSL's Western Division. Seoane was named manager of the Western Team for the June 18 FSL All-Star Game at Dunedin Stadium. Seoane, the second baseman on Miami's national championship team in 1982, played professionally in the Yankees' organization during the mid-1980s. coach and manager for the Angels (mostly in Class A) until 2000, when he joined the Yankees. Ironically, the Tampa Yankees' general manager, Sammy Arena, also is a Tampa Catholic graduate. "It's a unique situation because our families have been friends for a long, long time," Arena said. "I'm excited to have Mitch here. The players know exactly where they stand with him. "This isn't like coaching high school or college. These guys are playing for their jobs and trying to get to the big leagues. Mitch does a nice job charting the course for them, then he expects them to be professionals and produce." LOCAL NOTES: Jefferson WR Andre Caldwell is rated among the nation's top 25 college football prospects by The Sporting News. He's among the nation's top 100 seniors according to' Tom Lemming's Prep Football Report. Lemming also lists former Plant WR Mike Williams, who is headed to Southern California, as one of the nation's top 100 incoming freshmen. • Happy birthday to former Chamberlain High and Florida football player Eugene (Dazzlin') McCaslin, who is trying to make the Bucs' roster as a LB. Friday, McCaslin turned 25. * In addressing some hostile fan response to second-year men's basketball coach Perry Clark, University of Miami athletic director Paul Dee told CaneSport Magazine that many Hurricane fans favored the hiring of USF coach Seth Greenberg, a former UM assistant who interviewed with Dee in the summer of 2000. "I like Seth," Dee said. "I interviewed Seth. He and I met privately over in Sarasota. We went to a bagel shop at 7 in the morning and we were still there at 10 when the guy changed from cream cheese to ham. We had a really good, solid conversation." To report local sports news, milestones, updates or happenings, call Joey Johnston at (813) 259-7353 or send an e-mail.