Luis Castro (Dominican Republic)

Luis E. Castro (Niño el Zurdo)

• Bats Left, Throws Left

• Born August 11, 1918 in Santo Domingo D.R.

Biographical Information

Luis Castro was a top Dominican pitcher of the 1940s. He also played in the outfield. During his career, he appeared in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela, Panama and Colombia as well.

He was 2-0 with a 1.02 ERA for the Dominican national team in the 1941 Amateur World Series, finishing 6th in the event in ERA and leading the Dominican staff. He was 4-2 with a 1.82 ERA as a workhorse in the 1942 Amateur World Series, good for 7th overall in ERA (between L. Mayo and future major leaguer Izzy León). He led the event in wins, finishing one ahead of future MLB players Julio Moreno and León. He set a record that would still be standing when the event ran its last edition in 2011. The Dominicans finished second, their best finish in an Amateur World Series to that point.

He was 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA for the Bronze Medal winners in the 1943 Amateur World Series. In the 1944 Amateur World Series, he had a 2-1, 1.25 record to finish 4th in ERA behind Andrés Báez, Mirno Zuloaga and A. Ramirez. He set a Dominican record for wins in Amateur World Series competition; Listin Diario put him down at 10, but it is not clear when he got the 10th.

Castro turned pro in the Venezuelan League in 1946-1947. He pitched 4 2/3 innings for the Navegantes del Magallanes without allowing a run and hit .353/?/.412 with 8 runs in 8 games. He hit .231 in 1947-1948 for the Magallanes and Patriotas de Venezuela, going 0-2 with a 4.15 ERA. In 1948-1949, he again played for the same two clubs, going 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA. In his brief career there, he was 1-2 with a 3.27 ERA and hit .286.

In 1974, he was inducted into the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame.