Julio Valdez
Shortstop
Born: (1956-06-03)June 3, 1956
San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
Died: July 23, 2022(2022-07-23) (aged 66)
Nizao, Dominican Republic
Batted: Both
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 2, 1980, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
April 30, 1983, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average.207
Home runs1
Runs batted in8
Teams

Julio Julián Castillo Valdez (June 3, 1956 – July 23, 2022)[1] was a Dominican professional baseball infielder and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 1980 to 1983, and later managed in Minor League Baseball. Listed at 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and 160 pounds (73 kg), he was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed.

Biography

Valdez began his professional baseball career in 1976 with the Winter Haven Red Sox, a farm team of the Boston Red Sox; he reached the Triple-A level in 1979.[2] Valdez went on to play in MLB for parts of four seasons (1980–1983) with Boston, mainly as a shortstop.[3] In 65 MLB games with Red Sox, Valdez hit .207 (18-for-87) with one home run and eight RBIs.[3] In 1981, while with the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, he played in the longest professional baseball game in history, batting 2-for-13 in the 33-inning contest.

On May 6, 1983, Valdez was arrested at Fenway Park by members of the Boston Police Department during a game against the Seattle Mariners.[4][5] Valdez had not played for the team since the end of April,[6] and was not in uniform when arrested.[4][5] Charged with statutory rape, it was subsequently reported that the minor involved had lied to Valdez about her age.[5] The charges were dismissed in July of that year, after a grand jury refused to return an indictment.[7]

Following his arrest, Valdez was suspended with pay by the Red Sox and later designated for assignment.[7] He did not play in another major league game. He played in Minor League Baseball for the Red Sox organization though 1984, and then for the Chicago Cubs organization through 1988.[2]

After his playing career, Valdez managed the Dominican Summer League teams for several MLB franchises, including the Cubs, New York Yankees, and Chicago White Sox.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Muere el expelotero Julio Valdez (in Spanish)
  2. 1 2 "Julio Valdez Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  3. 1 2 "Julio Valdez Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Lehman, Betsey A.; Fox, Wendy (May 7, 1983). "Red Sox player is arrested on rape charge". The Boston Globe. p. 17. Retrieved October 13, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 Lehman, Betsey A. (May 8, 1983). "Girl says she lied to Valdez about age". The Boston Globe. p. 25. Retrieved October 13, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "The 1983 BOS A Regular Season Batting Log for Julio Valdez". Retrosheet. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Sports People; Rape Charges Dropped". The New York Times. July 14, 1983. p. B-14 – via nytimes.com.
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