Starlin Castro makes history in major league debut

Chicago Cubs’ Starlin Castro hits a three-run home run off Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Homer Bailey in the second inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 7, 2010, in Cincinnati. It was the first major league at bat for Castro. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

Al Behrman

Before Friday’s game against the Reds, Cubs manager Lou Piniella said the club wasn’t asking top prospect Starlin Castro to provide a “spark” for the team. Well, Castro must have missed that memo.

On Friday, the 20-year-old Dominican became the first player in major league history to drive in six runs in their major league debut. The previous record-holder -- the immortal Ben Grieve -- drove in five runs on September 3, 1997.

Castro connected for a three-run home run in his first at-bat in the second inning -- the third player to do it this season (Jason Heyward, Luke Hughes) -- and the sixth in Cubs history. The last Cubs player to accomplish the feat was pitcher Jim Bullinger on June 8, 1992. If that wasn’t enough, Castro later added a three-run triple in the fifth.

Cubs right-hander Carlos Silva summed the youngster’s night up pretty well:

“Unbelievable. I was hitting behind him, looking at everything he was doing. I was like: ‘Wow.’”

I’m a little worried that short-term expectations could get out of control after a historic night like this, but the North Siders and their fans have a homegrown player to be very excited about. And that’s always a good thing for this game.