Benny Castillo, 11-Year Pro Player, Former Affiliated and Indy Ball Manager Hired as Hitting Coach
WASHINGTON, Pa. (November 12) – The Washington Wild Things and manager Tom Vaeth have tabbed Benny Castillo as the team’s hitting coach for the upcoming 2027 season. He’ll also work in some capacity with the responsibilities of a bench coach.
Castillo played pro ball for 11 years, including from 1995 through 2000 in the independent Northern League and has been coaching and managing in independent and affiliated baseball since along with working as an instructor. He’s owned Cool Breeze Baseball Academy in Lakeland, Florida since 2016, where he’s been training players and managing the daily operations of the facility.
“This is a huge addition for the Washington Wild Things. Benny brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our coaching staff, having been a great hitter in his own right during his playing career and then serving as a hitting coach and manager in affiliated and indy ball,” said manager Tom Vaeth. “He has always shown up to the field with a lot of passion and energy and has been willing to spend a lot of time with his players and give them everything he has to help them be the best version of themselves. I can’t wait to watch him go about his work every day and see how much he will improve our offensive games.”
Benny was a fifth-round pick of Cleveland in the 1986 MLB January Draft-Regular phase from the Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Campus and then was selected in the 24th round in 1988 by Detroit from Oklahoma State University. He signed and played through the 1989 season with the Detroit Tigers’ farm system before missing 1990. He played in the independent Pioneer League (considered Rookie ball) in 1991 with Salt Lake City before spending the next two seasons in the Texas organization. After playing in 1994 in the Northern League with St. Paul, he had a stop at Double-A Canton-Akron (CLE) in 1995 around his stint with Sioux Falls in the Northern League. He finished an 11-year pro career in 2000 with a game for Duluth-Superior (NORL).
Over 11 seasons, he was a .277/.354/.431 pro hitter with 73 homers and 406 RBI in 773 games. He drove in 209 runs in six minor-league seasons and 197 in six seasons in the Northern League. He was a member of the national sub-champions Oklahoma State team in 1987 and 1988 All-NCAA Big Eight Team selection.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Castillo owns plenty of coaching and managerial experience at the professional level as well. He was manager for Duluth-Superior in 2000 in the Northern League and led the team to a championship appearance. He served as an assistant with Augustana College late in his career and into May of 2001 before taking over as manager of the Sioux City Explorers for two seasons. He was a manager in the Florida Marlins organization in the minors from October of 2002 to 2004. He took over for the Yuma Scorpions (Golden Baseball League) from 2004 to 2006. He was in the Tigers system as a manager/coordinator after that. He was an assistant for Sioux Falls in 2008 and since then he’s been an instructor with Florida Baseball Heaven Inc, Team Orlando LLC and the owner of Cool Breeze Baseball Academy since 2016, as mentioned above.
“I’m thankful for this opportunity. I’ve been away from this professional baseball circuit for quite a while, but you have no idea of the excitement that is in my heart. Being back on the field again helping young men fulfill their dreams is unreal,” said Castillo. “Fans should brace themselves for some exciting baseball in 2027. Soon you’ll hear the crack of the bat and the popping of the mitts. There’s no place I’d rather be!”
Castillo joins recent pitching coach hire Reid Santos on Vaeth’s field staff for next season.
The 25th season of Wild Things baseball in the MLB-partnered National Association of Professional Baseball (formerly known as the Frontier League) is coming right up! updates, other information and more, visit washingtonwildthings.com or follow the team on social media at facebook.com/WashingtonWildThings or @WashWildThings on other platforms.
Go Wild at washingtonwildthings.com.
