Slugging percentage: Vinny Castilla’s son Marco trades a bat for a real estate career; where he learns to hit for power
If you’re the son of the most enduringly popular ballplayer that
Colorado ever saw, and you hit left and have a good eye for the ball, your first choice of a career is going to be right where your dad’s was.
That was going to be the case for Marco Castilla, son of third baseman
Vinny Castilla, whose own penchant for hitting the long ball carried him through nine years with the team, the longest career here of any of the original 1993 Colorado Rockies; and twice to the All Star
Game.
But Marco Castilla was serious about education as well as baseball; and although he was often hitting .300 as a college player at UNC and at Arizona
Christian, he found himself at a decision point in 2019, after an early tryout with the Rockies left him doubting that potential.
“Dad told me that if I wanted to play in the independent leagues for a while to gain experience, to go for it,” Marco recalls. But a chat he had with his aunt, topselling real estate agent Jackie
Garcia with ReMax Professionals, put him on a different trajectory.
Connecting with people
“I loved how savvy he is with people, and the heart that he puts into personal relationships,” says
Garcia, who sold $ 35 million in residential real estate last year, and heads the Jackie Garcia
Team of agents where Marco has signed on.
Castilla, who joined Garcia last year, earned some early sales by working contacts with the ballclub, including on behalf of center- fielder Yonathan Daza and pitchers German Marquez and
José Mujica. But he’s also been putting time into learning how to hit for power in the profession, by studying his aunt’s technique.
“I’m blessed to have the opportunity to learn from her,” he says; adding that her ability to research and price properties for their maximum market effect is perhaps the most important skill.
Garcia adds that Castilla shows a valuable ability to connect with younger buyers who are reliant on social media and are needing plenty of added attention now, at a time when rates are still at historic lows, but inventory has a hard time keeping up with demand.
“Although it’s still a seller’s market, particularly in the lower price points,” notes Castilla, “this is a great
time to buy.” He can be reached at 303- 601- 3431.