Julio Julián Castillo Valdez (June 3, 1956 – July 23, 2022) was a Dominican professional baseball

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. 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 and , he was a

switch-hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

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. Valdez went on to play in MLB for parts of four seasons (1980–1983) with Boston, mainly as a shortstop. In 65 MLB games with Red Sox, Valdez hit .207 (18-for-87) with one home run and eight RBIs. 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. Valdez had not played for the team since the end of April, and was not in uniform when arrested. Charged with statutory rape, it was subsequently reported that the minor involved had lied to Valdez about her age. The charges were dismissed in July of that year, after a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

refused to return an indictment. Following his arrest, Valdez was suspended with pay by the Red Sox and later designated for assignment. 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 The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

organization through 1988. 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.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdez, Julio 1956 births 2022 deaths Boston Red Sox players Baseball players from San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Major League Baseball shortstops Minor league baseball managers Bristol Red Sox players Iowa Cubs players New Britain Red Sox players Pawtucket Red Sox players Pittsfield Cubs players Winston-Salem Red Sox players Winston-Salem Spirits players Winter Haven Red Sox players

Biography

See also

References

External links