Frank Castillo

Who was Frank Castillo?

Frank Anthony Castillo was an American Major League Baseball starting pitcher. Castillo played for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers, Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, and Florida Marlins.

A sixth round pick by the Cubs in the 1987 amateur draft, Castillo made his major league debut in 1991.

On September 25, 1995, in a 7-0 shutout victory over the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field, Castillo had a no-hitter broken up with two out in the ninth inning by inches. Bernard Gilkey hit a two-strike, line drive that fell in for a hit, despite an all-out attempt by Sammy Sosa to make a diving catch. The ball rolled to the wall for a triple, the only hit Castillo would allow. He struck out a career-high 13, including the first two batters in the ninth.

Castillo was trying to become the first Cubs pitcher to throw a no-hitter since Milt Pappas against the San Diego Padres on September 2, 1972, which also was the last no-hitter hurled at Wrigley Field.

His most productive season came in 1995, when he posted career numbers in wins, ERA and shutouts, while matching a career-high 135 strikeouts in 188.0 innings of work.