Sunday, February 20, 2022

1981 Topps John Castino

 

The front: This must be May 11, 1980, the only day game the Twins played in Yankee Stadium this year. Note the umbrellas in the crowd - the baseball-reference boxscore notes that it was overcast at the time of the first pitch. I never noticed that they included that information before. Tommy John allowed just six hits in a complete game shutout as the Yankees cruised to a 5-0 victory. Only one of those hits went for extra bases - a double by Castino.

The back: Castino shared Rookie of the Year honors with Alfredo Griffin.

The player: Castino started off his career in outstanding fashion, following up his 1979 Rookie of the Year season with an even better 1980. In 1981 he led the American League in triples, but hurt his back diving for a fly ball by Dave Winfield. The examination at the time of the injury revealed a degenerative condition that Castino had been born with but unaware of. Castino played through pain for a couple of more seasons but his back continued to worsen, forcing him to retire at the age of 29 in 1984.

The man: After his playing career Castino went to business school, got his MBA, and embarked on a long career as a financial advisor. He is now retired and living in Florida.

My collection: I have seventeen of his cards, from 1980 to 1985. I would be interested in trading for 1982 Fleer Stamps #230.


Posted by at
Labels:

2 comments:

  1. JonFebruary 20, 2022 at 11:33 AM

    I can't say that I would've ever given this card a second glance, but knowing exactly when and where the image is from, does make it considerably more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CrocodileFebruary 20, 2022 at 4:56 PM

    I remember Castino from way back when, he was great at 3rd and it was a shame he was forced to retire. His retirement paved the way for Gary Gaetti, another solid player for the Twins.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)