Ramón Castro (third baseman)

Ramón Castro
Castro with Rimini Baseball Club
Infielder
Born: (1979-10-23) October 23, 1979 (age 45) Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 21, 2004, for the Oakland Athletics
Last MLB appearance
July 26, 2004, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average	.133
Home runs	0
Runs batted in	3
Teams
Oakland Athletics (2004)
Medals Men's Baseball Representing  Venezuela 2006 Cartagena Team

Ramón Alfredo Castro Muñoz (born October 23, 1979) is a retired Venezuelan infielder. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics.

Castro was originally signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves in 1996. After six years in their minor league system, he was granted free agency.

Castro signed with the Oakland Athletics in 2003. He was called up from the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats and made his MLB debut on June 22, 2004, as a Pinch Hitter for Bobby Crosby. He played in his final game as a Defensive Replacement at Shortstop for Bobby Crosby for the Athletics a month later on July 26, 2004. He Wore #47 & played in nine games for the Athletics. With Sacramento, Castro batted .233 (27-for-116) with one home run, 15 RBI, 15 runs, eight doubles, two triples and one stolen base. With the Athletics, he hit .133 (2-for-15) with three RBI, one run, and one double in nine games.

In 2005, Castro played in the Washington Nationals organization, but was suspended 105 games in July and fined an undisclosed amount for violating the steroids policy.^[1]

He previously played for the Newark Bears from 2007 to 2008, being named the Most Valuable Player of the 2008 Atlantic League All-Star Game after hitting two home runs.^[2] In 2008, he hit .352 with 23 home runs and 84 RBI.

On June 26, 2009, Castro signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.^[3]

He played in five games with the Guerreros de Oaxaca in 2010.

Castro set Revolution season records in 2010 with a .339 batting average, 37 doubles and a .437 on-base percentage, ranking second in the Atlantic League in all three categories. His performance earned him First Team Atlantic League All-Star honors for the third time in his career. The Valencia, Venezuela native also had a 68-game errorless streak from May 15, 2010, through July 29, 2010. Then, he went on to bat .375 in the 2010 postseason. His final highlight was driving in the championship-clinching run on a tenth-inning sacrifice fly during Game 3 of the Atlantic League Championship Series at Bridgeport Bluefish.

Castro batted .328 (397-for-1396) in 1,396 Atlantic League games before joining the Rimini Baseball Club of the Italian Baseball League in 2013.

Castro signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish for the 2014 season. Castro played in 127 games for the Bluefish.

On March 24, 2015, Castro signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals. He did not make an appearance for the organization and elected free agency following the season on November 6.^[4]

• List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela

• Career statistics from ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Venezuelan Professional Baseball League statistics