Willi Castro has a daily pregame routine.
After warming up, he takes ground balls at second base, working on his double-play pivot. Unless he’s at third base, locking in on those long throws across the diamond. Or if he’s in the outfield that day, in which case he works on spotting the ball on the run, or coming in quickly on bloopers.
Anyway, then Castro takes part in the Twins’ hitters’ meetings, preparing for that day’s opposing pitcher, then gets into the cage to take some left-handed swings, where he’d like to increase his power. Unless he’s hitting right-handed, which means he’s trying to pull the ball a little more in order to take advantage of an often-shifted defense.
OK, Willi Castro doesn’t have a daily pregame routine. He’s got a daily pregame fire drill.
“It’s a lot. You’ve got to work in the infield, in the outfield, every position, to stay ready for anything. And I try to take the same amount of swings as everyone else, then take them from the other side, too,” Castro, the switch-hitting utility man, said. “I love it. It’s a rhythm, and I’m used to it. I’ve been doing that my whole life, I think.”
You might think a workload like that would require frequent days off. But it’s just the opposite, Castro said.
“The more I play, the better I play. This rhythm that I’m in, it’s because I’m in there every day, staying focused,” Castro said. “I feel really good. That’s my No. 1 goal, to stay healthy, and if I have that, I want to play. Every day.”
Mission accomplished. Castro has been in the starting lineup for 73 of the Twins’ 78 games, and he’s subbed in — at four different positions — in the other five. With the season’s midway point approaching on Thursday, Castro already has appeared in more first-half games than any player under Rocco Baldelli’s leadership, and at one point played every inning of 59 consecutive games.
