John made his first appearance as a Timber Rattler on April 19th of the 2001 season. Entering the game as a pinch hitter, Castellano laced a two run double. He struggled through May, hitting .236, but as the weather warmed up, so did the New York native. He had an amazing August, hitting .435 with 13 doubles, 5 homers, and 20 RBI. Splitting time between first base, catcher, and designated hitter, John hit .355 on the road for the season.
His .334 overall batting average is the best in team history, as is his .536 slugging percentage. He is one of only seven players to knock in 80 or more runs in a season and his 34 doubles are tied for the 5th most by a Timber Rattler.
The thing I remember most about Castellano was how he took over as a team leader just after arriving. The team played a horrible game in Kane County and Gary Thurman aired the guys out pretty good. After Thurm was done, Castellano asked if he could say something.
That was unusual, but that was John Castellano. Guy could hit all day, too.
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