Luis Castro
Encyclopedia
Luis Manuel Castro was born in Medellín
, Colombia
.) He was the first latin american born player to play in Major League Baseball in the United States
, and the first Latin American since Cuba
n player Esteban Bellán
in 1873 as a professional baseball player. If one does not consider the National Association
a major league, then Castro was the first Latin America
n to play in Major League Baseball
.
A second baseman
and right-handed batter, Castro attended Manhattan College
and played for the Jaspers baseball team. He played his one and only major league season with the 1902 American League
champion Philadelphia Athletics
. In his brief 42-game stint, he posted a .245 batting average
, with one home run
and 15 runs batted in, 35 hits, 18 runs scored, 8 doubles
, 1 triple
and two stolen base
s in 143 at bats.
The most common version of the story tells that Castro was a student at the Manhattan College in New York and was signed to play at the major league level with the Philadelphia team of the American League. He played just 42 games and after that he was released. There are records about his playing days in Minor League Baseball after 1902.
It was also believed that he could have been the son of General Cipriano Castro, president of Venezuela, who sent his son to attend college in New York, and became a baseball player, but the kid in order to hide his activities from his father, changed his nationality on the school records.
The most recent version came after the United States government made public the original records of the 1930 census, and researchers found that a Louis Castro, with profession "baseball player", son of Nestor Castro, was a resident of Flushing, New York, and as his birthplace he stated: New York City, putting aside the fact that he was the first Latin American born to ever play baseball at the Major League level.
Leonte Landino, a baseball journalist and researcher for the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) followed the path of longtime baseball writer Juan Vene and led the investigation along with Nick Martinez, a baseball researcher in Nevada about Castro's life and proof of birth outside the United States.
Martinez found an original list of passengers from the S.S. Colon, which arrived in New York City on October 16th, 1885. The ship sailed from the port of Aspinwall, United States of Colombia. In this list, passenger number 18 is Nestor Castro, 50 years old, born in the United States of Colombia, listing banker as occupation, coming to America as a visitor. Passenger number 19 is Master Luis Castro, age 8, born in the United States of Colombia.
The most consistent data about Castro's life is that his father was Nestor Castro. It is stated in his school records and his census card; therefore, this list proves that Castro came at 8 years old, with his father to New York and both entered the United States as visitors, and stayed in the country. His birth date on November 25th, 1876 matches his reported age on the ship.
Colombia and Panama formed the United States of Colombia, as a country, until 1886 when the country changed the name to Republic of Colombia. Panama became an independent republic on November 3rd, 1903. The city of Aspinwall, was a center of dispute, since it was an important port of call and trade center for American companies who ended up calling the city “Aspinwall”. However the locals refused this name and claimed that the city's name should be Colon. In 1890 the Colombian government decided to return every mail piece addressed to Aspinwall, changing the official name of the city to Colon, which still remains.
Castro and his father, both born in Colombia, supposedly on Medellin according to the school records, arrived in New York from Panama and started a new life in America since 1885.
Recently, several baseball databases such as baseball-reference.com and baseball-almanac.com, changed his birthplace to New York, making Pedroes the first Latino in Major Leagues, but the discovery of the ship's information and passenger's list provides a solid, and perhaps an irrefutable proof about his immigration to America. Even though he was not the first player who was brought by a team to play Major Leagues, Castro has to be recognized and credited as the first Major League Baseball player ever born in a Latin American country.
Castro died in New York City at age of 64. Leonte Landino and Juan Vene confirmed that Castro is buried with no tombstone on an unidentified space at St. Mary's cemetery in Queens, New York, as reflected on Vene's book "Las mejores anécdotas del béisbol" (Ediciones B, Venezuela, 2008. 212p. - (1 ed). According to Landino's research on "La Prensa del Beisbol Latino", a SABR publication, Castro is at Division 10, row 9, number 18 in this cemetery.
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.) He was the first latin american born player to play in Major League Baseball in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and the first Latin American since Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n player Esteban Bellán
Steve Bellán
Estevan Enrique "Steve" Bellán , also known as Esteban, was a Cuban professional baseball player who played as a third baseman for six seasons in the United States , three in the National Association of Base Ball Players from 1868 to , and three in the National Association of Professional Base...
in 1873 as a professional baseball player. If one does not consider the National Association
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , or simply the National Association , was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season...
a major league, then Castro was the first Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n to play in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
A second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
and right-handed batter, Castro attended Manhattan College
Manhattan College
Manhattan College is a Roman Catholic liberal arts college in the Lasallian tradition in New York City, United States. Despite the college's name, it is no longer located in Manhattan but in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, roughly 10 miles north of Midtown. Manhattan College offers...
and played for the Jaspers baseball team. He played his one and only major league season with the 1902 American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
champion Philadelphia Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
. In his brief 42-game stint, he posted a .245 batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, with one home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
and 15 runs batted in, 35 hits, 18 runs scored, 8 doubles
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
, 1 triple
Triple (baseball)
In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
and two stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s in 143 at bats.
Controversy about his birthplace
For many years publications were not consistent about the birthplace of Luis Castro. It was commonly believed he was Venezuelan, but no official records supported the theory.The most common version of the story tells that Castro was a student at the Manhattan College in New York and was signed to play at the major league level with the Philadelphia team of the American League. He played just 42 games and after that he was released. There are records about his playing days in Minor League Baseball after 1902.
It was also believed that he could have been the son of General Cipriano Castro, president of Venezuela, who sent his son to attend college in New York, and became a baseball player, but the kid in order to hide his activities from his father, changed his nationality on the school records.
The most recent version came after the United States government made public the original records of the 1930 census, and researchers found that a Louis Castro, with profession "baseball player", son of Nestor Castro, was a resident of Flushing, New York, and as his birthplace he stated: New York City, putting aside the fact that he was the first Latin American born to ever play baseball at the Major League level.
Leonte Landino, a baseball journalist and researcher for the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) followed the path of longtime baseball writer Juan Vene and led the investigation along with Nick Martinez, a baseball researcher in Nevada about Castro's life and proof of birth outside the United States.
Martinez found an original list of passengers from the S.S. Colon, which arrived in New York City on October 16th, 1885. The ship sailed from the port of Aspinwall, United States of Colombia. In this list, passenger number 18 is Nestor Castro, 50 years old, born in the United States of Colombia, listing banker as occupation, coming to America as a visitor. Passenger number 19 is Master Luis Castro, age 8, born in the United States of Colombia.
The most consistent data about Castro's life is that his father was Nestor Castro. It is stated in his school records and his census card; therefore, this list proves that Castro came at 8 years old, with his father to New York and both entered the United States as visitors, and stayed in the country. His birth date on November 25th, 1876 matches his reported age on the ship.
Colombia and Panama formed the United States of Colombia, as a country, until 1886 when the country changed the name to Republic of Colombia. Panama became an independent republic on November 3rd, 1903. The city of Aspinwall, was a center of dispute, since it was an important port of call and trade center for American companies who ended up calling the city “Aspinwall”. However the locals refused this name and claimed that the city's name should be Colon. In 1890 the Colombian government decided to return every mail piece addressed to Aspinwall, changing the official name of the city to Colon, which still remains.
Castro and his father, both born in Colombia, supposedly on Medellin according to the school records, arrived in New York from Panama and started a new life in America since 1885.
Late life and death
Castro received economic assistance during his late age. The official data from this office showed his birthplace is New York City. After the S.S. Colon log, it is assumed that Castro probably wanted to pass for an American citizen by born, in order to receive economical benefits from the Association and to avoid any kind of discriminations.Recently, several baseball databases such as baseball-reference.com and baseball-almanac.com, changed his birthplace to New York, making Pedroes the first Latino in Major Leagues, but the discovery of the ship's information and passenger's list provides a solid, and perhaps an irrefutable proof about his immigration to America. Even though he was not the first player who was brought by a team to play Major Leagues, Castro has to be recognized and credited as the first Major League Baseball player ever born in a Latin American country.
Castro died in New York City at age of 64. Leonte Landino and Juan Vene confirmed that Castro is buried with no tombstone on an unidentified space at St. Mary's cemetery in Queens, New York, as reflected on Vene's book "Las mejores anécdotas del béisbol" (Ediciones B, Venezuela, 2008. 212p. - (1 ed). According to Landino's research on "La Prensa del Beisbol Latino", a SABR publication, Castro is at Division 10, row 9, number 18 in this cemetery.