Vinny Castilla Retires

Vinny Castilla has officially announced his retirement from baseball. After 16 seasons and six different teams the Major League third basemen has decided to call it a career. The announcement came shortly after the conclusion of the Caribbean Series where Castilla was playing first base for his home country of Mexico. Mexico beat Venezuela 4-3 with Castilla hitting a double in his last official game.

Castilla is probably best remembered as a member of the Blake Street Bombers with the Colorado Rockies in the mid to late 1990s. Along with Andres Gallaraga, Ellis Burks, Dante Bichette, and later on Larry Walker, Castilla helped provide many incredible moments for the expansion team. During this stretch Castilla had a run of three straight years hitting more than 40 home runs and helped lead the Rockies to their only Playoff appearance to date in 1995.

He broke into the Majors with the Atlanta Braves in 1991. The following year the Colorado Rockies selected him with the 40^th pick in the expansion draft. He remained with the Rockies until he was dealt to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after the 1999 season. He bounced around the next few years playing with the Houston Astros, Washington Nationals, and San Diego Padres. He also had second stints with the Atlanta Braves and Colorado Rockies.

Castilla who was born in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico is a two time All Star making appearances in 1995 and 1998. He also picked up three Silver Slugger Awards and even led the National League in RBIs in 2004 with with 131. While playing for the Rockies he, Andres Gallaraga, and Ellis Burks became just the second trio of teammates to each hit 40 or more homeruns in a season, and with those same two players along with Dante Bichette became just the third quartet of teammates to each drive in 100 runs in a season.

With the reputation as being one of the best fastball hitters in the game, Vinny Castilla will walk away from baseball as the most prolific Mexican home run hitter of all time. In a classy move on the Colorado organization's part., Castilla was claimed off waivers after being released by the San Diego Padres following the 2006 season. This way he could retire as a member of the Colorado Rockies. He will stay with the Rockies and work as a Special Assistant to the teams General Manager Dan O'Dowd though he has hinted at aspirations of becoming a Major League Manager someday.

When asked to comment on his playing career, Vinny Castilla had this to say, "I left everything on the field and always respected the game."

Associated Press, (2007). "Castiila officially retires from baseball". Retrieved February 8, 2007, from http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2757911

Wikipedia, (2007). "Vinny Castilla". Retrieved February 8, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinny_Castilla