Chicago Cubs: Starlin Castro’s return has not been kind to former club

Although the Chicago Cubs had the upper hand on Friday, they still managed to drop the series opener. Then, New York lit up the scoreboard on Saturday evening — just when we thought things couldn’t get worse.

Words can’t describe the feeling I get in my gut when Starlin Castro records a hit against the Chicago Cubs. I can’t help but cheer for the man who gave us everything he had for so many years.

Exactly seven years ago today, Castro made his big league debut with the Cubs against the Cincinnati Reds. His arrival made him the first Major League player who was born in the 90’s, being only 20-years-old at the time.

Castro made a quick impact that night, hitting a home run in his first at-bat and later set a franchise record with six RBI in a single game. This performance had us excited for the future.

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As time went on, Castro eventually became the veteran alongside first baseman Anthony Rizzo. Those two men have been through a lot together, suffering through multiple sub-.500 seasons.

Sure, he had issues with staying consistent, but he was one of the original pieces that made this team what it is today. A World Series organization. News of the trade made me quite upset.

Parting Ways

That night, almost every highlight of Castro’s career in a Cubs uniform played in my head. Meanwhile, some Yankees fans were scratching their heads when the trade was announced. They all witnessed some of his struggles themselves and didn’t want him at first.

However, Castro silenced his critics by recording a career-high 21 home runs while driving him 70 runners in 577 at-bats. The most home runs he has ever had in his career was 14 back in 2012 and 2014.

So far in 2017, the power is there. Last night, he took Felix Pena deep to left field, nearly finding Waveland Avenue like he had a few times in the early stages of his career. It brought his home run total to seven as the Yankees went on to beat the Cubs, 11-6.

Same ol’ Starlin

Following his 3-for-4 performance in Game 2 of this series, Castro is now 5-for-8 with a home run, double, and three RBI against Chicago. Not to mention, he is now slashing .381/.421/.584/1.005 while Cubs’ hitters struggle to plate runs.

At the end of the day, it was great to see Starlin back at Wrigley Field once again. On Friday, emotions were through the roof as he approached the plate with that smile on his face.

Next: Anderson exits early in 11-6 loss

Fans in attendance stood on their feet, applauding someone who went from a young man to a veteran ballplayer right in front of their eyes.

Nothing in this world will be able to take that away from Castro. Now, let’s hope he’s on the losing end of today’s series finale.