Offered is an Official Major League Baseball acquired by Baltimore Orioles shortstop Juan Castro during the final game at Yankee Stadium on September 21, 2008. The baseball is tagged with an MLB authenticity sticker. The Yanks would win the final game--only fitting--beating Baltimore 7-3. Castro started at shortstop for the Orioles during that historic final game in The House that Ruth Built, and took the opportunity to grab a game ball. The Yankees played their first game there on April 18, 1923, and played a total of 6,581 games, the fifth-highest in the US baseball history. It also hosted over 100 world series games and 161 postseason games, higher than any other baseball stadium. There were 37 World Series games played here and the Yankees emerged victorious 27 times. The ball shows signs of being prepped for MLB play and shows signs of use. Castro acquired two of these baseballs-we sold the other in our Sept. 2024 Auction. Excellent condition.
The Juan Castro Collection
Rockhurst Auctions is proud to present the collection of Major League Baseball Player Juan Castro. Castro played infield for 17 seasons in the bigs, becoming a reliable utility infielder reserve for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Phillies from 1995 to 2011. In total, his career spanned 21 seasons when including his four years in the Minor Leagues starting in 1991. Since his retirement, Juan has held MLB coaching position with the Dodgers (quality assurance coach) and Phillies (infield coach). He coached with the Mexico national baseball team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, and in 2019, Castro was announced as manager for Team Mexico at the 2019 WBSC Premier12 tournament. He has also managed and coached in the Mexican Baseball League and Mexican Pacific League, and in 2023 he was inducted to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.
Offered in this auction are a wonderful assortment of the many baseball relics Juan collected during his two-decade odyssey through the Major Leagues, including signed baseballs, game used uniforms and signed jerseys and game used bats from many of his former teammates. Each item is accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Juan Castro.