Former Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher Alberto Castillo will manage the Dominican Republic in the WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup Americas Qualifier, which opens Friday.
Castillo was born in 1970 in San Juan de la Maguana. He played for eight different organisations from 1995 to 2007 and is currently a catching instructor in the New York Mets Farm System. He played for the Dominican Republic in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and was part of the national team coaching staff at the 2015 WBSC Premier12.
"Castillo was a winner, a great catcher," said Juan Núñez, the president of the Dominican Baseball Federation (FEDOBE). "It's a great honour to have him as the leader of this team.The level of the coaching staff combined with the talent we have gives us a very good chance to qualify for the U-23 Baseball World Cup."
The Dominican roster features:
PITCHERS Juan Jiménez, Bernardo Ramírez, Cristopher Mézquita, Epifanio Reyes, Jeremy Ovalles, Jeifry Heredia, Edwin Adon, Sammy Tavárez, Yifferson Valenzuela, Franklin Brioso, Eddy Vargas
CATCHERS Luís Santana, Gerry Castillo
INFIELDERS Albert Suarez, Ronaldo Paulino, Henry Pujols, Cristopher Núñez, Rafael Lantigua
OUTFIELDERS Ricardo Céspedes, Stanley Javier, Reissel Silvestre, Luilli Pichardo, Sandro Fabián, Van Javier
The coaching staff includes pitching coach Francisco Martínez and assistant coaches Ramón Genao Papiro, Luís González.
World No. 10 Dominican Republic will compete in Group A of the 12-team qualifier in Managua against the host/world No. 15 Nicaragua, No. 9 Venezuela, No. 22 Brazil, No. 43 Peru and No. 65 El Salvador.
The full U-23 Baseball World Cup 2020: Americas Qualifier schedule
