Reinaldo Costa

Reinaldo Costa Acosta

• Throws Right

• Born February 9, 1959 in Pinar del Rio, Pinar del Rio Cuba
• Died August 31, 2021 in Pinar del Rio, Pinar del Rio Cuba

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Biographical Information

Reinaldo Costa was a pitcher for the Cuban national team in the mid-1980s. He was the uncle of Raidel Costa and Francisco Costa.

Costa dominated the 1984 Series Selectivas for Pinar del Río. He led in wins (12-1), innings (113), strikeouts (60), complete games (9) and ERA (1.67) for a pitching Triple Crown. In the 1984 Amateur World Series, he was Cuba's ace at 3-0, 1.65 with 17 hits and 27 K in 27 1/3 IP. He tied for third in the event in wins, behind Julio Moya and Hiroshi Nagatomi. He also tied Noh-jun Park for fourth in strikeouts behind Julio Romero, Sheng-Hsiung Chuang and Nagatomi. Cuba took home the Gold Medal.

His stardom carried over to the 1984-1985 Serie Nacional. He won the All-Star Game and led the league with 14 wins; he took home the Serie Nacional Most Valuable Pitcher. It was one of about five times he helped the Vegueros win the title. He was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in the 1985 Intercontinental Cup, another tourney won by Cuba.

Overall, the right-hander was 110-67 with a 3.14 ERA in 12 seasons in Cuba. He pitched 259 games (165 starts).

Sources: 2005 Guia Official de Beisbol, A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman

Further Reading

• Article on passing