Who was the first MLB player born in a Spanish-speaking country?

For a long time, the answer to this question has depended on who you ask. Was it Esteban Bellan or any of the other Cubans who played in the National Association — the first U.S. professional baseball league, which lasted from 1871 to 1875? Not according to MLB, which decided a long time ago that the NA didn’t count as a major league.

MLB is the majors — but does it get to decide retroactively what historical leagues are or aren’t “major league”?

I guess so.

MLB says that the first major leaguer born in a Spanish-speaking country was Luis Castro. This is surprising. Not only was Castro from Colombia — not from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Venezuela or any other country that would make sense — but he was from Medellin, which is well outside the small section of Colombia that plays baseball, the Caribbean coast, near Cartagena and Baranquilla. (This is the region that produced Edgar Renteria, Gio Urshela and Jose Quintana ). Luis Castro starred at Manhattan College in New York before playing professionally. The peak of his career came in 1902, when he was 25, when he played second base for the Philadelphia Athletics, who were in the American League — which was definitely a major league.

Another twist in the Luis Castro story is that historians have disagreed about where he was actually born. Some say he was born in Colombia and brought to New York City by his Colombian father; others say that he was born in the U.S.

The eccentric Castro himself told conflicting stories about his life and his nationality. Some official documents list his birthplace as Medellin, Colombia. Others say he was born in New York City. For whatever reason, he told friends and teammates at various times that he was Venezuelan, Cuban, even Spanish. Until about a week ago, we were not even sure of his real name, which baseball references give as Luis Manuel Castro, Luis Michael Castro, and other variations. He was nicknamed “Jud” by his professional teammates. Of course, we don’t know why.

Now, however, we have proof of where he was born.

Castro was born on November 25, 1876, in Medellin, Colombia. He was baptized in May of 1877; this is confirmed by a recently discovered church record that gives his full name as Luis Joaquin Bonifacio Castro Vasquez. His father, a banker named Nestor Castro, brought him to the U.S. when he was eight. He grew up in New York City, where he learned baseball and attended Catholic schools. He died and was buried in Queens in New York City in 1941. Last summer MLB and the Society for American Baseball Research honored him by placing a marker on his previously unmarked grave.