Admirable figure in the box, confident movements, the mascot sounded when receiving the shipment... We are talking about the Villa Clara right-handerDiosdani Castillo that overnight, almost a decade ago, disappeared from the baseball universe in Cuba.
Where are you, what are you doing currently?
I live in Spring Hill, Florida, United States, and I am currently working in construction as a crew leader. I have achieved economic stability thanks to my work, I am not rich but I am not poor.
I have not been one of those who have dedicated themselves to creating academies, although I am going to train my son because he himself has asked me to and I see potential in him. Brian is about six years old and like every child, he likes to hit.
I'm doing well, I have a large part of my family here, my wife, three of my children (Brian, Jason and Silenai) and my dad. I have my mother and two of my girls (Yoselin and Jennifer) left in Cuba.
Did you always play baseball or did you play other sports, where are you from?
I am from Vueltas, municipality of Camajuaní in Villa Clara. I was always inclined towards baseball. In my mind and heart, always baseball. I am not from the high performance pyramid because it was not until I was 17 that I joined organized baseball. Arael Sánchez Cabello was my pitching coach at that age.
I was in a special area with Idalberto, but everything was very unstable and it was not until I was 17 that I became aware of what I wanted to be in life, a baseball player.
How do you move to high performance?
In a test for new pitchers that they did at “Sandino”, where I qualified for the provincial youth preselection. That was from 16 to 17 and I was lucky to have Arael as a teacher.
Diosdani Castillo was characterized by his control and a stable speed above 90 miles. He served as a reliever for seven National Series. He debuted with Villa Clara in the National Series 46, in 2007.
In his seven championships he worked in 194 games (only one as a starter) with a balance of 23 wins, 15 losses and 27 points for saves. His effectiveness average: 3.48. According to official numbers, in 346 innings he struck out 117 opponents and walked 110.
It really was a life dedicated entirely to the ball. Still fresh in my memory are the images of that legendary scoundrel that I gave to Ciego de Ávila, in a play off of the Series 51, a game played at the “Sandino” and after which, at the exit of the stadium, I was widely applauded for the fans gathered there.
As was?
Phew! I was called to replace Misael Siberio, with bases loaded and no outs. The first batter was none other than Yorelvis Charles, then Yoelvis Fizz and I closed with Isaac Martínez; I retired all of them by punching… A stash of punches! According to Jorge Fuentes who was supervising the game, I reached 94 miles. Can you imagine what a madhouse the “Sandino” became? On top of the third-grade dogout was my entire town from Vueltas with the conga and when we left the park that was tremendous, I will never forget it!
Nor do I forget that I have been the only reliever who has won the lead in earned runs (1.55 pcl) in a 90-game National Series.
Favorite manager for you; catcher you worked best with?
If I'm honest, I have no inclination towards a specific manager, I felt good with everyone, from everyone I extracted knowledge that was useful to me in my career. As for the catchers, honestly, I had the privilege since I started playing ball in the youth categories, to have the best catcher in Cuba in my opinion, Ariel Pestano and one who was no second to anyone, Yulexis La Rosa.
You joined the CUBA team at the Tercer Clásico 2013 and represented Villa Clara in the 2014 Caribbean Series on Isla Margarita.
You know that in neither of the two events we were able to win although in the Classic we managed to qualify from Fukuoka to Tokyo, that is, we reached the semi-finals. Precisely, when I received the good news of having made the staff for the Classic, someone very important to me had just passed away, my grandfather Pelayo, who always longed to see me in the CUBA suit and that will mark me forever.
By the way, you were included at the last minute despite your good performance in the campaign.
Well yes, I was included, as you say, at the last minute in the preselection despite being pitching for 0.45 pcl and being discussing pitching leadership with Ismel Jiménez from Sancti Spiritus.
In Isla Margarita we were only able to win one game thanks to that great game that Villo Odelín played. In addition to these two competitions, I attended a tournament in the United States with university players, a group led by Víctor Mesa.
The authorities of the Cuban Baseball Federation left you out of the national preselection along with five other young prospects due to attempts to illegally leave the country. Why did you make that decision?
For the same reason that all Cubans who can do so take it: to be able to help our family financially, to support our children. In my particular case I couldn't take the lies anymore. Look Julita, I lived in a very humble house, with hardly any conditions to live in, any rain would flood it with everything that entails for furniture, electrical equipment... you know!
I went to raise my problem and the head of government in my municipality had promised me a house but what he did with me was play ping pong, from here to there and from there to here. I heard the information that he wanted the house for a sister and that made me very angry.
I had never thought about leaving the country. I am a guajiro who was happy in my land, in the land where I was born. I consulted my father, I made a first attempt and failed and then, on the second, I succeeded. I arrived in Cancún, Mexico, where I stayed for five months.
Searching for your information on the Internet, I found an interview with the experienced pitching coach Orlando Chinea in which he highlighted your qualities to become a big leaguer: “he has perfect command, he puts the ball where he wants; I compare him to Chapman, he has skills because he moves the ball to the right side, to the left side and down from home plate, perfect consistency around the strike zone and quite acceptable speed.”
So Diosdani, what happened, why didn't you arrive?
You know that when you arrive without prior contacts you can fall into the wrong hands and that happened to me. My agent handled my paperwork very poorly. I was in Mexico, I did my Mexican residency to be able to be a free agent because as a Cuban you cannot enter the MLB.
I did all my training with Chinea, I asked my agent if I was a free agent now and he told me yes; I crossed the border, I was introduced to several teams and it remains with me that I did everything well. Many wanted to sign me, all my try outs were great, with a lot of discipline, I managed to maintain my speed above 94 miles, it was around 96 but...
Why is there always a but?
Simple: my representative deceived me, I was not a free agent at all, they couldn't sign me. One day the Dodgers scout came, he was interested and when he called the organization it turned out that they had deceived me. I had to return to Mexico, I played there and I got injured. The MLB was a dream that I could never achieve due to a vile deception.
Two teams in the Mexican League.
Well yes, two, the Tigres de Quintana Ross and the Rieleros de Aguas Calientes. I pitched little because I was injured quickly, they changed my routine and made me a starter. With a record of two and one, I got injured. The 2016-17 season marked my final departure from baseball.
Do you follow MLB, what team are you from? What do you feel when you see Yordan Álvarez, Adolis García, Pito Abreu, Yulieski Gurriel in action? How many more will come?
I won't lie to you if I tell you that I watch the Major Leagues sporadically; yes, the plays off. I really sympathize with the Houston Astros since Yulieski started playing with them, Aledmis Díaz and Yordan Álvarez, although now only the man from Las Tuscany is there.
I am very happy with the performance of each Cuban player, especially Pito Abreu, whom I admired to a superlative degree. Also to Yulieski who came out when he was over 30 years old and look what he has achieved: two championship rings in the best baseball in the world. Son of his father, both greats of our baseball.
Every Cuban who succeeds is a source of pride for Cuban baseball, which continues to provide immense players. Look at this year's All-Star Game, the number of people born on the Island who qualified for that show. That makes Cuba and its children proud, it speaks of the quality of Cuban baseball.
Current situation of sport in Cuba and within it, baseball? What do you think?
In a general sense, sport, in particular, baseball... It is not difficult to find the reason for the deterioration that Cuban baseball presents today. The disastrous economy, the low resources, the ruined special areas.
I'll give you my town as an example. I have visited it, I love going to the stadium, I stop by to see the boys and remember the old days. And you just have to take a look and there are no bats, there are no gloves, there are no balls. I have brought balls to try to keep young baseball players from stopping playing.
In Vueltas the children train because of the sacrifice of the teachers who try to solve something, scratch here and there because they have nothing. That's the truth. Multiply Laps throughout the country. We had a good pyramid system but if the base of that scaffolding is weak, the building falls. That's what happens with the ball and with sport.
You can't ask for more. Add to that the lack of motivation and the stampede of the youngest talents who are no longer inspired to wear the jersey of the province or the country but of the Big Top teams. It's sad! But that is the truth.
The other and very important thing. In Cuba we always play with the same teams, the same players. All the leagues in the world play with foreign players and us? Baseball in Cuba has not advanced technically or academically, they have been left with old books.
What do you think?
SEE COMMENTS (1)Filed in: