Santiago Casilla
Encyclopedia
Santiago Casilla is a right-handed Major League Baseball
relief pitcher
for the San Francisco Giants
.
.
Casilla pitched from 2000 to under the name of Jairo Garcia. In , he revealed his real name to be Santiago Casilla during spring training
. He had used false documents when he first signed a contract with the Athletics in 2000.
Casilla pitched small parts of , , and for the Athletics as a reliever. In , Casilla was recalled by the Athletics from Triple-A after going 2-1 with a 4.13 ERA
with 29 strikeout
s in 24 innings. He stepped into a bullpen
that had Huston Street
, Justin Duchscherer
, and Kiko Calero
on the disabled list
. Casilla started off well, going 2-1 with 2 saves and a 0.45 ERA in his first 16 games. But he wound up finishing the season with a 3-1 record and a 4.44 ERA in 46 games. He pitched in the A's bullpen in the 2008 and 2009 seasons with mixed success.
At the end of 2009, he was granted free agency by the A's and signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants
for 2010. He made his Giants debut on May 21, 2010 against his former team in Oakland and remained with the team for the remainder of the season until they won the World Series
. He returned to the Giants for 2011 as a member of the bullpen and took over as its closer
after Brian Wilson
went on the disabled list in August.
and a hard-breaking slider
. He also occasionally mixes in a curveball
and changeup
.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
relief pitcher
Relief pitcher
A relief pitcher or reliever is a baseball or softball pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed due to injury, ineffectiveness, fatigue, ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as being substituted by a pinch hitter...
for the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
.
Baseball career
Casilla was signed by the Athletics on January 31, 2000, as an amateur free agentFree agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
.
Casilla pitched from 2000 to under the name of Jairo Garcia. In , he revealed his real name to be Santiago Casilla during spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
. He had used false documents when he first signed a contract with the Athletics in 2000.
Casilla pitched small parts of , , and for the Athletics as a reliever. In , Casilla was recalled by the Athletics from Triple-A after going 2-1 with a 4.13 ERA
Earned run average
In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...
with 29 strikeout
Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....
s in 24 innings. He stepped into a bullpen
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen is the area where relief pitchers warm-up before entering a game. Depending on the ballpark, it may be situated in foul territory along the baselines or just beyond the outfield fence. Also, a team's roster of relief pitchers is metonymically referred to as "the bullpen"...
that had Huston Street
Huston Street
Huston Lowell Street is an American baseball relief pitcher for the Colorado Rockies. His father is former University of Texas quarterback James Street, and his brother Juston Street is currently a pitcher for the minor league Vancouver Canadians....
, Justin Duchscherer
Justin Duchscherer
Justin Craig Duchscherer [DUKE-shur] is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.-Early career:...
, and Kiko Calero
Kiko Calero
Enrique Nomar "Kiko" Calero is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher, who is currently a free agent.-Professional career:...
on the disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
. Casilla started off well, going 2-1 with 2 saves and a 0.45 ERA in his first 16 games. But he wound up finishing the season with a 3-1 record and a 4.44 ERA in 46 games. He pitched in the A's bullpen in the 2008 and 2009 seasons with mixed success.
At the end of 2009, he was granted free agency by the A's and signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
for 2010. He made his Giants debut on May 21, 2010 against his former team in Oakland and remained with the team for the remainder of the season until they won the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. He returned to the Giants for 2011 as a member of the bullpen and took over as its closer
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer , is a relief pitcher who specializes in closing out games, i.e., getting the final outs in a close game. Closers often appear when the score is close, and the role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. A small number of...
after Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
went on the disabled list in August.
Scouting
Casilla works with a prototypical power pitcher repertoire, chiefly throwing a mid to high-90s two-seam fastballFastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch in baseball. Some "power pitchers," such as Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, have thrown it at speeds of 95–106 mph and up to 108.1 mph , relying purely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit...
and a hard-breaking slider
Slider
In baseball, a slider is a pitch that breaks laterally and down, with a speed between that of a curveball and that of a fastball....
. He also occasionally mixes in a curveball
Curveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
and changeup
Changeup
A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball. Other names include change-of-pace, Bugs Bunny change-up, the dreaded equalizer, and simply change. The changeup is sometimes called an off-speed pitch, although that term can also be used simply to mean any pitch that is slower than a fastball...
.