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Antonio José Castillo Jiménez (born March 1, 1963) is a Venezuelan former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Toronto Blue Jays, Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox. Listed at 5' 10" , 177 lb. , he batted and threw left-handed.
Castillo played in ten MLB seasons spanning 1988âÂÂ1998, pitching in 403 games, 218 of them with the Blue Jays. Castillo posted an overall record of 28âÂÂ23 with a 3.93 ERA and 22 saves, striking out 333 batters while walking 179 in innings of work. Castillo played in four career playoff games, all with Toronto in 1993, posting a 1âÂÂ0 record with a 5.06 ERA, and helping the Jays win the 1993 World Series.
Castillo signed with the Toronto Blue Jays as an amateur free agent on February 16, 1983, and worked his way through the Blue Jays farm system before making his Major League Baseball debut with the club on August 14, 1988, where he pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen in a 6âÂÂ0 loss to the Kansas City Royals. He earned his first career strikeout against Royals shortstop Kurt Stillwell. On September 3, Castillo earned his first career victory, pitching innings, allowing no hits and walking two batters, while striking out one in a 7âÂÂ4 win over the Texas Rangers. Castillo played in 14 games with Toronto, going 1âÂÂ0 with a 3.00 ERA in 15 innings pitched.
Castillo began the 1989 season with the Blue Jays, however, he struggled with the team, going 1âÂÂ1 with a 6.11 ERA in 17 games. He did earn his first career save on April 16 against the Kansas City Royals, pitching innings of scoreless baseball out of the bullpen in a 15âÂÂ8 win. On August 24, the Blue Jays traded Castillo and Francisco Cabrera to the Atlanta Braves for Jim Acker.
Castillo finished the 1989 season with the Atlanta Braves, getting into getting into 12 games with the club, going 0âÂÂ1 with a 4.82 ERA in innings pitched.
In 1990, Castillo made his first career start on July 24 in the second game of a doubleheader against the Houston Astros, and allowed two runs in innings pitched, as he had a no-decision in a 9âÂÂ8 victory. He played in 52 games with Atlanta, starting three of them, as Castillo had a 5âÂÂ1 record with a 4.23 ERA in innings pitched.
Castillo began the 1991 season in the Braves bullpen, where he went 1âÂÂ1 with a 7.27 ERA in seven games before being traded with Joe Roa to the New York Mets for Alejandro Peña on August 28.
Castillo finished the 1991 season strong with the New York Mets, playing in 10 games, starting three of them, as he went 1âÂÂ0 with a 1.90 ERA in innings pitched. On January 22, 1992, the Mets traded Castillo and Mark Carreon to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Paul Gibson and minor leaguer Randy Marshall.
Castillo ran into injury problems in the 1992 season, and did not play in any games with the Tigers. He then spent some time with their Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League, where he was primarily used as a starting pitcher. On October 15, Castillo was granted free agency.
On January 11, 1993, Castillo rejoined his original team, the Blue Jays. Castillo made 51 appearances as part of the bullpen, going 3âÂÂ2 record with a 3.38 ERA in innings pitched en route to the 1993 American League East title. In the championship series, he pitched two scoreless innings in two games, as the Blue Jays defeated the Chicago White Sox and advanced to the 1993 World Series to face the Philadelphia Phillies. Castillo earned the victory in the fourth game of the series, as Toronto won the game 15âÂÂ14. Overall, Castillo was 1âÂÂ0 with an ERA of 8.10, allowing three runs in innings, while Toronto won the World Series championship in six games.
Castillo had a very strong 1994 season, going 5âÂÂ2 with a 2.51 ERA in 68 innings pitched, before the season ended early due to the 1994 strike.
Castillo had another solid season in 1995, despite posting a 1âÂÂ5 record in 55 games, collecting an ERA of 3.22 in innings and leading the Blue Jays with 13 saves.
In 1996, Castillo had a record 2âÂÂ3 with a 4.23 ERA in 40 games out of the bullpen. In August, he was traded by Toronto along Domingo Cedeño to the Chicago White Sox for Luis Andújar and minor leaguer Allen Halley.
Castillo finished the 1996 season with the White Sox strong, going 3âÂÂ1 with a 1.50 ERA in 15 games pitched.
In 1997, Castillo pitched in a career-high 64 games, going 4âÂÂ4 with a 4.91 ERA and four saves. But he struggled in 1998, as he was 1âÂÂ1 with an 8.10 ERA in 25 appearances. He was released in June of that year.