Luis Castro
Second baseman
Born: (1876-11-25)November 25, 1876
Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia
Died: September 24, 1941(1941-09-24) (aged 64)
New York City, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 23, 1902, for the Philadelphia Athletics
Last MLB appearance
September 27, 1902, for the Philadelphia Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.245
Hits35
Runs scored18
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Luis Miguel Castro (November 25, 1876 – September 24, 1941) was a baseball player who was born in Medellín, Colombia. According to Major League Baseball, he was the first Latin American to enter the league. Castro was an infielder who played 42 games with the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1902 season.[1]

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 bases in 143 at bats.

Late life and death

Castro received economic assistance during his old age. The official data from this office showed his birthplace as New York City. After the S.S. Colon log, it is assumed that Castro probably wanted to pass for an American citizen by birth, in order to receive economic benefits from the Association and to avoid any kind of discrimination.

Several baseball databases such as baseball-reference.com and baseball-almanac.com, changed his birthplace to New York, but the discovery of the ship's information and passenger list provides a solid and perhaps irrefutable proof about his immigration to America. Despite the fact that he was not the first player who was brought by a team to play in the Major Leagues, Castro is recognized and credited as the first Major League Baseball player ever born in a Latin American country.

Castro died in New York City at the 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.

On July 20, 2021, Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos unveiled a new tombstone for the first Latino to play in Major League Baseball on Colombian Independence Day, at Mount St. Mary Cemetery in Flushing.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Remembering Luis Castro, the first Latino in MLB". MLB.com.
  2. ↑ Moro, Julia (July 21, 2021). "Queens senator honors first Latino MLB player on Colombian Independence Day – QNS.com". qns.com.
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