Martin Horace Castillo (born January 16, 1957) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

third baseman and catcher. Castillo, who is of Mexican descent, is an alumnus of Savanna High School in

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. Drafted by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

in the fifth round of the

1978 Major League Baseball Draft The 1978 Major League Baseball draft was held June 6–8, 1978, consisting of 48 rounds, during which a total of 779 players were selected by 26 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations. The first overall selection was Bob Horner, drafted by t ...

, Castillo made his Major League Baseball debut with the Detroit Tigers on August 19, 1981. Castillo played in only seven games combined in the 1981 and 1982 seasons, but saw more frequent action in 1983, playing in 67 games. Castillo had his best statistical season as a member of the Tigers team that defeated the

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in the

1984 World Series The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the Nationa ...

. Castillo played 33 games at third base and 36 at catcher for the 1984 Tigers. He had career highs in 1984, including a .234 batting average, 33 hits, 11 extra base hits, and 17

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs). On August 26, 1984, Castillo went 3-for-4 and scored three runs in a victory over the Angels. On September 23, 1984, Castillo went 2-for-3, including a home run and two RBIs, to help the Tigers win their 100th game of the season – a 4–1 victory over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. Castillo played well in the post-season. He had two RBIs in the 1984 American League Championship Series, including the game-winning, pennant-clinching RBI in Game 3, knocking in

Chet Lemon Chester Earl Lemon (February 12, 1955 – May 8, 2025) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning with the Chicago White Sox in 1975, where he played for six years. He w ...

for a 1–0 victory, sending the Tigers to the World Series. Castillo also caught the ball at third base for the final out of the pennant-clinching game in 1984. An article in The Detroit News several years ago questioned whether Castillo still had the ball. Castillo continued his strong hitting in the

, batting .333 with a .455 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage. He had nine

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s in the World Series and had three hits, two runs scored, two walks, two RBIs, and a home run. What Castillo called "the greatest feeling of my life" came in Game 3 of the World Series, when he hit a two-run home run. With a count of one ball and two strikes, Castillo hit a fastball into the left field upper deck. He said of his reaction that "I wanted to do a couple of cartwheels, a backflip and a roundoff." Castillo was also on base in Game 5 (the final game) when

Kirk Gibson Kirk Harold Gibson (born May 28, 1957) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager. Gibson spent most of his career in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers, but also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kansa ...

hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning off

Goose Gossage Richard Michael "Goose" Gossage (born July 5, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1972 and 1994. He pitched for nine different teams, spending his best years wit ...

. In a 1984 ''Sports Illustrated'' article, Castillo was described as "an outgoing practical joker" and "one of the more popular Tigers." The article noted that Castillo was "so nice that Tom Monaghan, owner of the club and

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, doesn't object to Castillo's endorsing Little Caesars Pizza." When asked by ''Sports Illustrated'' if he would gain other endorsements as a result of his World Series home run, Castillo responded, "I'm not going to worry about it. But my new phone number is ..." Castillo played his last major league game with the Tigers on October 5, 1985.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Marty 1957 births Living people Baseball players from Long Beach, California American baseball players of Mexican descent Chapman Panthers baseball players Detroit Tigers players Lakeland Tigers players Montgomery Rebels players Evansville Triplets players Toledo Mud Hens players Fort Myers Sun Sox players Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball catchers