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A name stands out again and again: Juan Castro. His performances with the bat do not attract attention and perhaps several people will wonder how, with an average of 228 in 16 national series, he is ranked among the main masks in the history of the Cuban ball. The answer lies in his defensive actions. Although there are catchers with higher numbers, it seems that Juan Castro filled the gaps in the batting with his unparalleled handling of the mascot.

In 16 seasons he had an average with the glove of 985 and a percentage of caught stealing of 46.8 (330 cooled in the middle in 705 fraud attempts). Intelligence was one of his distinguished weapons and during his career he was received by one of the most brilliant pitcher bodies that has passed through the Cuban ball. Rogelio García, Julio Romero, Reinaldo Costa and Omar Ajete, among others, were at some point guided or advised by him. None of this appears in the scores but influences the outcome of a game, as the receivership is not considered an offensive position, and at a time when baseball was full of toleteros there was no need for a catcher so batter, but someone with the ability to guide his teammates and defend well and, apparently, defense was the second surname of Pinar del Río.

To decide for the Vuelbajero, Medina or Pestano seems to be a mere matter of taste, of what the thousands of managers we have in our country decide. Not all the arguments are in the digits and if that were how we would explain the case of Germán Mesa. There are torpedo boats with higher numbers; but almost nobody questions that it has been the best shortstop that has been seen in Cuban lands.

Perhaps the same thing happens with Juan Castro and what has marked his fans is his elegance behind the home to fildear foulflys and his mascoteo to receive the pitchers. The truth is that, regardless of the statistics, fans always consider him among the greats and, many times, the greatest. Because of my young age, I didn't see him play, but her name was heard in every dispute.

Then, to get out of doubt -when I was still in primary school- I asked my father who Juan Castro was and the answer came faster than a straight of 99 miles: "A catcher from Pinar del Río, the most elegant of all".

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