Enrique Castillo

Note: This page discusses 1960s and 1970s Mexican League star Enrique Castillo. For the Colombian national team pitcher of the same name, click here.

Enrique Castillo Tello

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 6", Weight 154 lb.

• Born June 9, 1938 in La Barca, Jalisco Mexico
• Died August 7, 2018

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Enrique Castillo was a top Mexican League relief pitcher of the 1960s and 1970s. He is a member of the Salón de la Fama. He spent almost his entire career (12 of 17 seasons) before the league began tracking save statistics, making it hard to gauge his value relative to US firemen of the same era (for whom save statistics have been retroactively calculated).

Castillo debuted as a pro in 1960 with the Aguascalientes Tigers, going 10-10 with a 2.87 ERA (Pat Doyle's database lists him as spending 1955-1956 in the Northern League; the SABR database lists this Enrique Castillo as being the same height and weight but 10 years older; it is possible but unlikely that Castillo was pitching in the US at age 17 and 18).

In 1961, Castillo debuted in the Mexican League, going 1-7 with a 5.76 ERA for the Mexico City Tigers. He split '62 between Mexico City (1-4, 5.04) and the Aguascalientes farm club (12-2). Enrique was up for good with Mexico City by 1963, when he was 6-4 with a 2.14 ERA in 55 outings. In 1964, Castillo went 6-4 with a 4.68 ERA. He followed with a 7-4, 1.91 season out of the 'pen for the 1965 Tigers.

The Jalisco native posted a 12-5, 3.43 record in 1966 and 11-7, 2.81 in '67. He continued his trend of double-digit wins with minimal games started (1 in 1966, 4 in 1967, 0 in 1968) in 1968 by going 10-7 with a 2.97 ERA in 53 outings. In 1969, Castillo was 10-7 despite a 5.10 ERA; he walked 75 in 113 innings that year.

Castillo moved to the Saraperos de Saltillo in 1970 and was used somewhat regularly as a starter (16 starts, 32 relief stints) for his first time in the Mexican League. He responded with a solid 14-5, 2.45 campaign. Qualifying for the ERA crown for the first time, he finished second in the LMB behind only Alfredo Mariscal.

The right-hander was 15-6 with a 2.97 ERA for the 1971 Saraperos and led the Liga in winning percentage. He was 13-7 with a 3.29 ERA for the club in '72. Moving to the Torreon Cotton Dealers in 1973, he fell to 5-9 but with 6 saves and a 2.90 ERA; it was the first time in his career that the Mexican League tracked saves.

In 1974, Enrique was 11-6 with 8 saves and a 3.13 ERA, followed by a 8-12, 3.76 campaign with 3 saves in 1975. At age 37/38, he allowed 2 runs in 11 innings for the 1976 Cafeteros de Cordoba. He wrapped up in 1977 with the Nuevo Laredo Owls, allowing 4 runs in six innings.

Overall, Castillo had gone 131-94 with 17 saves and a 3.37 ERA in 17 seasons in the Mexican League. He had pitched 642 games, with 129 starts. Through 2000, he ranked 8th in league history in games pitched, ahead of Alfredo Ortiz, and was 6th with 105 hit batsmen.

After four years on the ballot, he was enshrined in the Salón de la Fama in 2008, joining Antonio Briones in being voted in that year.