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MLB All-Star Game: Miami Marlins All-Time All-Star 2B

By Sean Millerick |
MIAMI - JUNE 20: Second baseman Luis Castillo
MIAMI - JUNE 20: Second baseman Luis Castillo
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The next installment of the Miami Marlins All-Time All-Stars tour puts the spotlight on the talent rich position of second base.

Second base is a fun one for the Miami Marlins, with plenty of deserving names in their history. However, you knew who it would be the moment this All-Time All-Star series started.

Luis Castillo stands head and shoulders against the rest of the Marlins All-Star second base competition, even if (fun fact) they are all the same height. No shocker there. But what often tends to get overlooked with Castillo is that he’s not just the best second baseman in team history.

He might just be their best player overall.

Three consecutive Gold Gloves. Three All-Star Games in four years. He led all of baseball in stolen bases twice in three years, settling for a mere 50 bags before starting that stretch. He owns the longest hitting streak in Miami Marlins history, and the fourth longest in baseball over the last fifty years. And oh yeah, he’s a World Series champion.

The milestones don’t end there. Games played. Hits. Triples. Walks. Stolen bases. Castillo ranks as the franchise leader in all of them. If nothing else, he wins the Marlins participation award.

Castillo’s All-Star Efforts

The All-Star campaigns? Those would be 2002, 2003, and 2005. Castillo’s All-Star track record checks in at a modest 1 for 5, and despite his golden defense, never started for the National League.

Jeff Kent and Jose Vidro alternated blocking Castillo from the starting lineup, and at times, the roster completely. The 2005 season, Luis’ last with Miami, probably checks in as the most egregious starting snub.

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Of course, there really should be a forth All-Star Game on his ledger, considering none of those three years include the best season of his career. That would be 2000, when he hit for a .334 average with a league best 62 steals.

As far as not starting, the snub is understandable. Castillo had the bad luck of timing his best season with Kent’s 2000 NL MVP effort. But not even making the roster with those numbers? Ridiculous, especially considering the All-Star Game was still an exhibition then.

Either Vidro, Edgardo Alfonso, or even the Marlins own Ryan Dempster all should have been moved aside for the speedy No. 1.

Again, the competition for top Marlins All-Star is fierce when it comes to second. Really, every era of Miami Marlins baseball has had a dynamic playmaker at the position, if not an outright All-Star. Castillo. Dan Uggla. Dee Gordon. All different, but all deadly. Intermixed with the wheels of Chuckie Carr, the grit of Craig Counsell, and the technically an All-Star once Omar Infante, the position has almost always been in good hands.

But never more so than when they were in the thrice golden ones of Luis Castillo.

MIAMI, FL – JUNE 01: (Editors Note: Image has been converted to black and white) Dee Gordon
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 01: (Editors Note: Image has been converted to black and white) Dee Gordon /

Best Marlins All-Star Season At Second:  2015 Dee Gordon*

I gave this one a lot of thought. Can we count this one, given the 2016 suspension when he put the D in PED? Or must it be stricken from mind and Miami Marlins history alike?

That’s the question when it comes to evaluating Dee Gordon.

But, going purely by the numbers, what’s absolutely not in question is that 2015 Gordon was the best performance ever turned in by a Marlins second baseman. He led all of baseball in hits and stolen bases, finished atop the National League in batting average at .333, was named an All-Star starter, won the Silver Slugger Award, and earned his own Gold Glove Award for his defense.

He was out of this world awesome.

And it’s entirely possible he was cheating the entire time. That needs to be said. However, couldn’t exactly sell you on another eligible season when Gordon topped every stat of relevance in 2015 either.

So if you’re a forgiving, trusting, glass is half full type of baseball fan- or just a hard boiled cynic who believes everyone cheats and there’s no point in even caring- then Gordon’s 2015 campaign is your single season answer. Even if he never actually got to play in the All-Star Game on account of a poorly timed injury.

Second Best At Second  For Marlins

However, some of you probably need a little more here. And honestly, I’m right there with you. So for your single-season consideration….stick with 2003 vintage Castillo.

The 2003 season did see him lose some speed, notching a mere 21 stolen bases. Yet it also saw him bat for the second highest batting average of his career, swinging away at a .314 clip. He made the All-Star team, won a Gold Glove, fouled off the Bartman ball, and won a World Series.

That’s hard to top.

The only rub here is that most would agree at least three of his teammates did. Juan Pierre put over 200 hits along with 65 steals in 2003. Derrek Lee was Golden himself in what was at the time a career best offensive season. Mike Lowell was in the running for the NL MVP until missing the last month of the season, but still managed to hit 32 HRs.

Next: See Which Marlin Was Snubbed For ASG

Alongside all that greatness, Castillo’s 2003 could look darn right mediocre.

Even if it was essential. At any case, choose your own adventure here Marlin Maniacs. We’ll catch you tomorrow when we work our way to shortstop.

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