JUPITER, Fla. -- He has won back-to-back Gold Gloves, is a two-time All-Star and his 35-game hitting streak in 2002 is tied for the 10th longest in baseball history.

Yet, Marlins second baseman Luis Castillo remains one of the league's unsung stars. All the 29-year-old Dominican Republic native does is quietly produce, year after year.

 

By his own standards, batting .291 in 2004 was disappointing. But in the field, Castillo remains the standard for National League second basemen, collecting his second straight Gold Glove.

 

"There are certain guys who have the ability to sell themselves," Marlins manager Jack McKeon said. "And there are certain guys who don't have that knack. The certain guys who can sell themselves do something like spread out to the base or make a sales pitch where people say, 'Look at that guy hustle.' Louie just does the job."

 

Without much fanfare, Castillo's contributions aren't unnoticed by the Marlins players, coaches or management.

 

Since winning the 2003 World Series, the Marlins have been a team of star-caliber players who don't necessarily have national star power.

 

"Louie is just a good player," McKeon said. "Like I tell our players, 'The only stars are up in the sky.'"

 

An All-Star in 2002 and 2003, Castillo fits the mold of the selfless Marlins who go about doing their business without generating much attention.

 

A switch-hitter, Castillo is upset he didn't top the .300 mark, which he has achieved four times in his career. His .334 average in 2000 remains a club record.

 

"Last year, I don't feel I did too good," said Castillo, who got off to a slow start after chipping a bone in his left pinkie. "The two years before I hit .300. Last year, I didn't hit .300. This year, I'm going to be working hard to have a good season."

 

Admittedly, Castillo has gone through an adjustment period in recent years, adapting to batting second after he led off early in his career.

 

In 2002, when Castillo batted .305 and led the league with 48 stolen bases, he hit leadoff. That year, he also rolled off a 35-game hitting streak, the longest in the league since 1987.

 

Before the 2003 season, the Marlins obtained Juan Pierre in a trade with the Rockies. Management decided to give teams something to think about by going with essentially two leadoff hitters. Because he is more selective, Castillo dropped to second in the order.

 

"Before, I was hitting first," Castillo said. "Now, I know what I have to do hitting second. With J.P. first, I now have to wait. If he makes an out in the first at-bat, I know what I have to do. I have to pick it up. That's the key."

 

The speedy tandem created havoc in 2003 and was a major reason why the Marlins were World Series champs.

 

After the Marlins won it all two years ago, a number of teams have followed the trend of going with speed in the first two slots of the order.

 

But last year, the opposition focused more on shutting down Florida's running game. Pierre and Castillo were given more attention, and when the middle of the order was slumping, Florida wasn't the running team it had been in previous seasons.

 

Now that the Marlins have added slugger Carlos Delgado to bat cleanup, the organization boosts perhaps its most potent lineup.

 

Behind Castillo, the Marlins will go with Miguel Cabrera, Delgado and Mike Lowell. With more threats in the lineup, the Marlins feel they have a balanced attack with speed and power.

 

"Me and J.P., we're working hard to doing the same things that we did in 2003," Castillo said.

 

Since leading the league with 48 steals in 2002, Castillo hasn't run as often. He's stolen 21 bases in each of the past two years, but he feels he can crank up those numbers, if asked. This year, he'd like to push that total to about 30.

 

Once one of the fastest players in the league, Castillo has been slowed a bit by a hip problem the past two years. He had a scope on his hip after the 2002 season, and his speed isn't what it was, but he still is fast enough.

 

"When I stole 62 bases [in 2000], I was hitting first," Castillo said. "I know what I have to do. Then, we didn't have as good a team like we do right now. When I get on base, I don't try to steal a lot because I know we've got a couple of guys with power coming up. Sometimes I have to wait for the guy hitting. I may not steal as many bases, but if I get a chance, I'm going to steal. This year, with Cabrera, Delgado and Lowell, if you give me a chance, I'm going to steal second.

 

"If I was leading off, I'd change my [mindset], thinking I'd have to steal 45 or 50 bases. This is my third year hitting second. My whole career, I hit first. This year, I'd like to get 30. But the most important thing for us is the team doing well. We've got a good team."

Good article. Louie pwn3s all.

Gotta love Louie. Even if he is diminished (I don't think he'll top 25 steals again) he is bar-none the best defensive second baseman in baseball, and he's the most important cog in our offense outside of Delgado, because the one thing he does that no one else does is make the opposing pitcher work. I can't think of an at-bat where Louie doesn't see at least 4 pitches, unless he singles right off the bat .

 

 

Good to see he's getting some respect; all of it is well deserved.

If Luis plays 11 more seasons (that would make him 39 turning 40 in the last), he'd have to average a little less than 170 hits a season to get to 3000...

 

That's possible, barring injury.

You have to admire a guy who was known as the best leadoff man in the league and took a lesser role to help the team.

I think his diminished steal totals relate more to his drop in the batting order than to his diminished speed. He's not quite as fast as he was, but he's still a guy that if asked could steal 40. The fact that he doesn't attempt as many steals shows what a team player he is.

 

His category of player is judged by steals and OBP. He sacrifices the steal #'s because he doesn't want to get caught with Cabrera or Lowell up to bat. He's also as smart a situational player as there is in baseball. He knows when his job is to see pitches, or to try to get a walk. If we are down by 2 with 2 out in the ninth, the guy I want to see up is Luis. He'll do his best to get on so one of the big guys can tie the game. Great article.

You have to admire a guy who was known as the best leadoff man in the league and took a lesser role to help the team.

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Definitely