| Jason Castro | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Castro at spring training in 2015 | |||||||||||||||
| Catcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1987-06-18)June 18, 1987 (age 38) Castro Valley, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| June 22, 2010, for the Houston Astros | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| June 29, 2022, for the Houston Astros | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .227 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 97 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 325 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Jason Michael Castro (born June 18, 1987) is an American former professionalbaseballcatcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theHouston Astros,Minnesota Twins,Los Angeles Angels, andSan Diego Padres. After playingcollege baseball atStanford University, he was selected by the Astros in the first round of the2008 Major League Baseball draft (#10 overall). Castro made his big league debut with Houston in 2010. He was selected to the 2013All-Star Game, serving as a reserve catcher, which made him the first Astro All-Star elected to play for theAmerican League.
Jason Michael Castro was born on June 18, 1987, inCastro Valley, California.[1] Castro played high school baseball atCastro Valley High School.[2] He played junior varsity basketball at Castro Valley High School for the legendary Coach Burns.
Castro attendedStanford University, where he playedcollege baseball for theStanford Cardinal. He was named the club's most valuable player his junior year.[3][4] After his sophomore season in 2007, he playedcollegiate summer baseball for theYarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of theCape Cod Baseball League, where he batted .341 in 39 games,[5] was named the startingcatcher for the East Division All-Star team,[6] and helped lead the Red Sox to the league championship.
Castro was selected by the Astros in the first round (tenth overall) of the2008 Major League Baseball draft.[7] Castro started in Single-A for theTri-City ValleyCats in 2008. He was promoted to play for theClass AACorpus Christi Hooks on June 7, 2009,[8] after playing in Advanced-A for theLancaster JetHawks and played his first game for the team on June 10. He also played for theUnited States national team in the2009 Baseball World Cup inNettuno, Italy.[9]
Castro was selected to play for the United States team in the 2009All-Star Futures Game inSt. Louis. In the game, hethrew out a runner and hit a three-runhome run.[10] He was ranked 53rd on Baseball America's list of "Top 100 Prospects" in 2009.[11] Shortly after the Futures Game, the Astros sent Castro home early from the Arizona Fall League so that he could rest for the 2010 season.[9]
On June 20, 2010, the Astros promoted Castro to the MLB from theClass AAARound Rock Express. He made his MLB debut on June 22, 2010, atMinute Maid Park against theSan Francisco Giants. He singled offTim Lincecum in his first career at-bat.[12] Castro hit his first major league home run on June 24, 2010, againstMatt Cain.
On March 2, 2011, while playing in aspring training game against theDetroit Tigers, Castro suffered a knee injury while running to first base. He underwent surgery two days later, on March 4, to repair his tornanterior cruciate ligament and a damagedmeniscus. As a result, he missed the entire 2011 season.
On June 13, 2012, while pinch-hitting forXavier Cedeño, Castro grounded out toJoaquin Arias to record the last out forMatt Cain's perfect game. He played 87 games in the 2012 season, finishing the year with a .257 batting average, 6 home runs and 29 RBI.[1]
On May 20, 2013, Castro was awarded the honor of beingAmerican LeaguePlayer of the Week.[13] He earned his first All-Star Game selection that season as a reserve catcher, but did not appear in the game. He led the Astros with a .350 OBP. He set club catcher records with 63 runs, 18 home runs (16 of which were hit as a catcher, tyingJohn Bateman's club record — two were while playing as a DH), and a .485slugging percentage. In September, he had surgery to remove a cyst from his knee and missed the rest of the season. He played 120 games that year.[14]
After the 2013 season, Castro completed the degree that he had started at Stanford. When he was drafted, he was 25 credits shy of the degree. He had returned to Stanford in the 2010 offseason to begin taking the rest of the courses, but he was delayed by rehabilitation from his 2011 injury.[15]
Before the 2014 season, Castro signed a one-year contract with the Astros worth $2.45 million. Before the 2015 season, he signed another one-year contract with the Astros, worth $4 million.[1] In 2015, he batted .211.[16]
In 2016, he batted .210.[16]
On November 30, 2016, Castro signed a three-year contract worth $24.5 million with theMinnesota Twins.[17] In his first season with the Twins, Castro hit .242 with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs in 110 games.
On May 16, 2018, it was revealed that Castro was diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee, which required season-ending surgery.[18] In 2018 he batted .143.[16]
In 2019, Castro played in only 79 games for the Twins due to sharing time withMitch Garver, who had a breakout year. He hit .232 with 13 home runs and 30 RBIs.
On January 7, 2020, Castro signed a one-year, $6.85 million deal with theLos Angeles Angels.[19]
On July 24, 2020, Castro made his Angels debut as an Opening Day starting catcher. With the Angels, he batted .192.[16]
On August 30, 2020, the Angels traded Castro to theSan Diego Padres forGerardo Reyes.[20] In 27 games split between the Angels and Padres, Castro batted .188/.293/.375 with two home runs and 9 RBI in 80 at-bats.[21]
On January 22,2021, Castro signed a two-year, $7 million contract to return to Houston.[22]
In the 2021 regular season, he batted .235, and .180 against left-handlers.[16] On defense, he caught stealing 13% of runners, catching 4 runners while yielding 27 stolen bases.[16]
In Game 2 of theAmerican League Championship Series versus theBoston Red Sox, he hit a home run in a 9–5 loss. It was his first and only postseason home run.[23] On October 19, in Game 4 atFenway Park, Castro played a key part in the series. With two out in a 2–2 tie, he singled homeCarlos Correa in the top of the ninth inning offNathan Eovaldi to drive Correa home. The run was the first of seven that the Astros scored in the inning, with the Astros going on to win 9–2, tying the series at 2–2 after the Red Sox had won two in a row. Two games later, the Astros won the pennant to send Castro (who went 2-for-3 in the ALCS) to his first World Series.[24] Prior to Game 4 of the2021 World Series, Castro was removed from the Astros roster due to COVID-19 protocols, and he was replaced for the rest of the series byGarrett Stubbs.[25]
On June 29,2022, Castro, along withaceJustin Verlander, helped lead a 2–0 shutout of theNew York Mets. Castro's two-run home run supplied all the offense in the game while tripling his RBI season total from one to three.[26] On July 1, 2022, the Astros placed Castro on the 10-day injured list due to left knee discomfort.[27] On August 2, the Astros announced that Castro underwent surgery on the left knee and would miss the remainder of the season.[28] This made his home run hislast at-bat. Due to the injury, Castro was unable to make an appearance for the Astros in the2022 postseason but still earned his first careerchampionship ring[29] as the Astros went on to win theWorld Series against thePhiladelphia Phillies in six games.[30]
On December 2, 2022, Castro announced on Twitter that he was retiring from Major League Baseball.[31]
Upon his retirement, Castro ranked as the Astros' career leader among catchers in home runs (71), and his 717 games at the position ranked third behindAlan Ashby andBrad Ausmus.[32]
Castro married Maris Perlman in late 2012. They met at Stanford, where Perlman played lacrosse.[33] The couple founded Castro's Kids, a Houston-area literacy program.[34] The couple has three children, 2 boys and 1 girl.
