Santiago Casilla

Santiago Casilla
Santiago Casilla
	Casilla at the 2012 World Series victory parade
	Pitcher
	Born: July 25, 1980 (age 44); San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	August 9, 2004, for the Oakland Athletics
Last MLB appearance
	July 13, 2018, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	42–31
Earned run average	3.29
Strikeouts	583
Saves	144
Teams
	Oakland Athletics (2004–2009); San Francisco Giants (2010–2016); Oakland Athletics (2017–2018);
Career highlights and awards
	3× World Series champion (2010, 2012, 2014);
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing Dominican Republic
World Baseball Classic

Santiago Casilla (born July 25, 1980) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2004 to 2018 for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. Casilla threw four pitches: a fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup.

Casilla originally signed with Oakland under the name of Jairo Garcia, listing his birthdate as 1983. He debuted with Oakland in 2004, pitching briefly for them that year and the next. In January 2006, he revealed his true name and age. 2007 marked the first time he pitched more than four games in a year for Oakland; he an initial boost to their bullpen but missed the latter part of the season with an injury. He appeared in 51 games in 2008, then was allowed to become a free agent after posting a 5.96 earned run average (ERA) in 2009.

The Giants signed Casilla in 2010; after starting the season in the minor leagues, he was called up in May and remained with the team for the rest of the season. Casilla won the World Series with the Giants that fall; he also won World Series championships in 2012 and 2014, one of only eight players with the team for all three championships. He replaced Brian Wilson as the closer for the Giants in late 2011 and again at the beginning of 2012, when Wilson was injured. Sergio Romo replaced him as the closer halfway through 2012, but Casilla reclaimed the role in 2014, holding it until the end of 2016. Three times with the Giants, he posted an ERA under 2.00.

After Casilla struggled in 2016, he became a free agent. The Athletics signed him in 2017, and he closed for them until they acquired Blake Treinen in August. He pitched the first half of 2018 with them, then finished the year in the minor leagues for the Colorado Rockies.