NEW YORK - The trio of Mexican ballplayers leaned against a wall in the bowels of Shea Stadium, clowning around in front of a photographer rapidly clicking away.
To the right was Esteban Loaiza, the Washington Nationals' wise-cracking, journeyman starter. To the left was Luis Ayala, the team's talented young reliever.
Fittingly, in the middle was Nationals third baseman Vinny Castilla, the symbolic center of Mexican baseball for the past 14 years.
With his jet-black hair, easy laugh and 300-plus big league homers, Castilla, 37, has rock-star status in his home country. He's a fastball-crushing Elvis.
"He is an icon," said Tony Siegle, Washington's assistant general manager. "He is an icon and a god in Mexico, without a question."
For this photo shoot, a Cinco de Mayo promotion for a Spanish-language newspaper, Loaiza forced Castilla to wear a baseball cap. The balding Loaiza presumably didn't want to compete with Castilla's slicked-back mane.
Still, Castilla unwittingly controlled the session. He crossed his arms and, moments later Loaiza and Ayala crossed their arms and struck the same pose.
Castilla laughed and the others followed. Eventually, Loaiza and Ayala turned to face Castilla, two respected big league ballplayers flanking "The King," as the camera flashed.
Life couldn't be more picture perfect for Castilla at the moment.
He's the National League's reigning RBI champ. He has a two-year, $6.2 million contract with the Nationals. And he has gotten off to a fast start with his new team, hitting .338 with three homers, seven doubles and 12 RBIs in 68 at-bats through Wednesday's game.
Turnaround
"I am very happy here," Castilla said. "I think we can win here, too."
Baseball was much different for Castilla four years ago. That's when the majors' worst team released him. That's when he thought his career might be over.
"To be honest, that was like a nightmare for me," Castilla said. After five consecutive seasons of 30-plus homers and 90 or more RBIs for Colorado, the Rockies traded him to Tampa Bay for pitcher Rolando Arrojo and infielder Aaron Ledesma in December 1999.
It was a disastrous deal for both teams. Arrojo and Ledesma barely played for the Rockies. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay paid millions of dollars for Castilla to homer eight times in 424 at-bats.
In leaving the thin air of Colorado, Castilla's power numbers were expected to decline some. But not so dramatically.
