CV Native Represents in World Series
PHOTO SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
You might have recognized a face at this year’s World Series. Castro Valley’s own Jason Castro played for the Houston Astros as they battled against the Atlanta Braves.
Jason, 34, had been on the roster until last Saturday when the team announced they placed Castro on the COVID-19 related injured list. During the World Series against the Braves, Jason played in two games where he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. To help Houston get to the Series, Jason went 2-for-4 in this year’s American League Championship Series and American League Division Series.
And while Jason’s baseball career is putting Castro Valley on a national stage, his success on and off the field comes as no surprise to Jason’s high school coach and former teammates.
“You could not ask for a better person to represent Castro Valley,” said former Castro Valley High School baseball coach, Jon Lavine. “He was a professional when he was 15 and he is a professional today.”
Coach Lavine managed Jason between 2003 and 2005 and was impressed enough with the Sophomore to add him to the Boys Varsity team. In that three-year period, the Trojans qualified for North Coast Section each year and had a winning in-league record of 41-7 and an overall record of 67-22.
Jason proved himself at the plate with a .453 batting average, according to Lavine. But it was after the game where the coach says Jason really earned his reputation.
“One of the things that stands out was the time Jason and his dad put into his game,” Coach Lavine said. “They were the two people you knew would be in the batting cage after everyone left the field. Jason would always be early to practice and always the last to leave.”
Behind the plate, Jason also made an impact. While the Coach moved him around in his first year, the next two would see Castro starting at catcher for the Trojans. While some high school coaches call the pitches, Jason worked hard enough to begin calling them by himself, including Jason Huber’s perfect game in 2005 in a 1-0 win over San Leandro.
Coach Lavine said he has casually kept up with Jason’s career, including a trip down to Houston during Jason’s first stint with the Astros.
“A couple of years later, I got a chance to go to Yankee stadium to watch him play there. That was something special,” Lavine said. “Jason always made it a point to say hello. He’s that kind of guy.”
Former CVHS teammate Zack Kim also recalls his time with Castro on the field long before high school.
“Jason’s a good dude with a good work ethic. It’s really cool to see someone playing in the World Series whom you used to pick up rocks on the Little League field. It’s great to say, I played with that guy,” Kim said.
Zack and Jason even ended up playing against each other in college a few times when Jason was a catcher for Stanford and Zack played outfield for the USF Dons.
Off the field, Jason has given back to the Houston community. He and his wife Maris started a charity in 2013 called Castro’s Kids. The program donated more than 60,000 books to the Houston Independent School District (HISD) over a four-year period. The couple also supports a no-kill animal shelter based in Houston, called Friends for Life.
Jason joined Houston as a free agent after signing a two-year contract this past January, which will keep him in an Astro uniform through the 2022 season.