I wasn’t under any delusion that Vinny Castilla was going to get a phone call on Monday telling him he had been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.
He may someday become a member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame (in Monterrey). And I’m sure Colorado Rockies fans are willing to think of the one-time Saltillo Sarapero (a Mexican League ballclub) as one of the best ballplayers their team ever had.
BUT IT DOESN’T surprise me that a .297 hitter with just under 300 home runs during the course of his U.S. major league career didn’t get more support from Hall of Fame voters.
In fact, I’m sure there are some people who want to know the names of the six voters who actually cast ballots in favor of Castilla having a bronze plaque in Cooperstown. So that they can hold those six up to ridicule.
I think those people are a bit extreme – even though I wouldn’t have voted for him if I had a ballot.
But I was curious to see how much support he would get because, as one of the few Mexican-born ballplayers of recent years (many Mexican citizens wind up playing the bulk of their careers in the Mexican League because Mexican ballclubs tend to want to keep local talent at home), I have always watched his career with some sort of amusement.
HE COULD HAVE been one of the all-time greats of the Mexican League. But when combined with his significant stint in the United States, I fully expect he will someday get picked for the Hall of Fame there, because that institution likes to honor Mexicans who go abroad to show off their talents.
Which is why ballplayers like Sid Monge and Celerino Sanchez are Mexican Hall of Famers – even though those who remember ONLY their U.S. baseball careers would find such a thought to be incredible.
I’m sure the fact that Castilla has continued to stay connected to baseball by managing Mexican teams in various international tournaments, along with ballclubs in the League of the Pacific in Mexico will enhance his image even further.
Which is why I feel compelled to write this commentary. Anybody who tries to dismiss Castilla as a one-and-done (in terms of election chances to the Hall of Fame in this country) is missing the point on his significance. And the fact that he won’t have a bronze plaque in Cooperstown anytime soon (if ever) doesn’t change that.
THAT WON’T BE the same fate for Bernie Williams. The one-time New York Yankees center fielder from Puerto Rico managed to get enough Hall of Fame ballots (almost 10 percent) that he’ll get another chance next year.
Although I suspect that the people who eagerly go against one-time Yankees star Don Mattingly every year so they can dump on the ballclub will soon add Williams to their list of ballplayers they won’t even consider – even though Williams has his own share of accomplishments and was one of the top ballplayers of those Yankees teams that dominated the American League from the mid-1990s through the 2000s.
Although some have since been broken, Williams once held career post-season playing records for games played, runs batted in, extra base hits and home runs. Which may well be a factor of him getting the chance to play in so many playoff and World Series games.
But somebody who keeps coming into championship-level games that often in his career is doing something right.
WHICH COULD MEAN that Williams’ name will linger on for years – as people let their memories run of those great Yankees ballclubs that likely will produce only one Hall of Fame ballplayer (unless the Yankees-bashers decide to play hardball and single out Derek Jeter for their rejection as well).
And will continue to linger for up to 14 more years as he gets Hall rejection after rejection.
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