Article: Crew Throwback: Bill Castro

[reillymcshane]

If you ask, who wore a Milwaukee Brewer uniform the longest? The answer is likely Bill Castro, who spent seven seasons with the club as a player, and 18 more as a coach.

William Radhames Castro Checo, born in 1952 in the Dominican Republic, was signed by the Brewers in as an amateur free agent in 1970. Castro was immediately moved into the bullpen, reaching the big leagues in 1974. Working almost exclusively out of the pen, Castro spent more than six years in Milwaukee, appearing in 253 games.

Castro left Milwaukee after the 1980 season as a free agent, spending one year with the Yankees and two with the Royals, before retiring after the 1983 season.

During his time in Milwaukee, he was an effective reliever. His best run came from 1978-80, when he produced ERAs of 1.81, 2.03 and 2.77, respectively. Not a strikeout pitcher, Castro succeeded by limiting home runs and walks. In addition to appearing in 253 games, Castro saved 44 games, and posted a 3.56 ERA.

After retiring, Castro worked as a scout and minor league coach for the Brewers from 1985 through 1991, before becoming Milwaukee's bullpen coach in 1992. He served in that capacity until 2008, when he was promoted to pitching coach. The Brewers fired him in August 2009, but he returned to the organization in 2010 and 2011 as their Latin American pitching advisor.

In 2012, Castro served as the Baltimore bullpen coach, and then as their pitching coach in 2013, before retiring from baseball.

Bill Castro is a great example of an organizational role player providing solid, but unspectacular, results from the bullpen for seven seasons. He didn't do anything exceptionally well, but the team was able to count on him for solid production during his tenure.

Share your memories of relief pitcher long time Brewer coach Bill Castro below.

 

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