Red Sox fans were finally treated to the long awaited debut of Cuban star Rusney Castillo Tuesday night.
Ever since the team signed the 27 year old outfielder to a whopping 72 million dollar contract last month, fans had been eagerly awaiting their first chance to see the star in a big league game. Castillo was said to be the kind of player that could play a huge role in this franchise going forward and fans were excited to see if that was true. And yet ever since Castillo’s ETA to the MLB was announced last week, Red Sox fans had been further weighed down by the question that seems to always go hand in hand with these kinds of contracts. What if? Sox fans asked ahead of his debut, what if we overestimated him?
Those worries were an omnipresent emotion that seemed to crawl in between the questions, tweets and predictions fired off as the prospect of Castillo’s debut drew closer and closer to its becoming a reality.
As a result, PNC Park in Pittsburgh was packed to capacity Wednesday playing host to journalists, Pirates fans and Red Sox fans alike, the majority of whom were there to see Castillo. Their able bodied, able talented subject of their showering in anxious admiration did not disappoint. Needless to say, he did not shock fans either.
Playing 8 innings out in left field, Castillo made just one play on the baseball, snagging an easy put out in the 5th innings. At the plate, he went 1-4 logging his first career hit in the 4thinning on a sharply hit grounder to second base.
1 hit is not spectacular but judging by the fact that that 1 hit was struck during the biggest game of Castillo’s career, he has no reason to hang his head; and he is not.
"I'm pretty satisfied with that being my first game; obviously you would like a better outcome in terms of winning the game, but I was pretty satisfied with my overall approach and the way I stepped in today and had some results," Castillo said to translator Adrian Lorenzo after the game.
Castillo has shown that he has the skills to step in and made a big impact on this team once he builds some chemistry with the staff and his teammates. He said Wednesday that he feels he is in a good place as a ball player.
"Yes, yes, I've been pretty happy with the way things have worked out, not just with the success on the field but the relationships I've been able to develop with the coaching staff and clubhouse staff and teammates." He said.
In a lost season that sees the Red Sox on pace to finish with virtually the same record as they did two years ago under Bobby Valentine, Rusney Castillo is quickly showing both adaptability and sheer skill in his new club. After playing with poise and a cool head Wednesday, this player deemed worth 72 million dollars by his coaches is winning immense praise from those coaches and GM’s.
Ben Cherrington, the mastermind behind the August deal for Castillo was among the most impressed with Castillo’s professionalism.
"I don't think it's the results that you learn from. It's just watching him around the team, pregame, interacting with people, questions he asks, all that stuff has been positive so far,” Cherrington said. “Even if you just start with the time he was in Miami, and the showcase and go from there, the signing, the minors, being in Fort Myers, Portland, Pawtucket, he's met a lot of people and played games in a lot of different places, and he's handled it all well."
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