Luis Miguel Castro (November 25, 1876 – September 24, 1941) was born in Medellín, Colombia. According to Major League Baseball, he was the first Latin American to enter the league as an infielder who played 42 games with the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1902 season. 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 The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

champion Philadelphia Athletics. In his brief 42-game stint, he posted a .245

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, with one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and 15

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

, 35 hits, 18 runs scored, 8 doubles, 1

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

and two stolen bases in 143

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

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 Jessica Ramos (born June 27, 1985) is an American politician from the state of New York. Ramos is a member of the Democratic Party. Since 2019, she has served in the New York State Senate representing District 13, which currently includes the Que ...

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.https://qns.com/2021/07/queens-senator-honors-first-latino-mlb-player-on-colombian-independence-day/

References

External links

Remembering Luis Castro, the first Latino in MLB at ''Major League Baseball''

MLB players born in Colombia at ''Baseball Reference''

Famous First Foreign Players at ''Baseball Almanac''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castro, Lou 1876 births 1941 deaths Sportspeople from Medellín Major League Baseball second basemen Philadelphia Athletics players Minor league baseball managers Atlanta Crackers players Auburn Maroons players Augusta Tourists players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Birmingham Barons players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Manhattan Jaspers baseball players Nashville Vols players New London Whalers players Norwich Witches players Portland Browns players Portsmouth Pirates players Utica Pent Ups players Colombian emigrants to the United States Major League Baseball players from Colombia Colombian people of Spanish descent American sportspeople of Colombian descent Burials in Queens, New York, by place

Late life and death

See also

References

External links