Julio Enrique Gotay Sánchez (April 9, 1939 – July 4, 2008) was a Puerto Rican

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

, a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

and second baseman who played all or parts of ten seasons (1960–69) for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, Pittsburgh Pirates,

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

and Houston Astros of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. Born in Fajardo, he threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He was the uncle of infielder Rubén Gotay.

Career

He made his major league debut at age 21 on August 6, 1960, as the host Cardinals defeated the Cincinnati Reds 6–5. In his first career at-bat, pinch-hitting for pitcher Ed Bauta in the sixth inning, he singled off Cincinnati southpaw

Joe Nuxhall Joseph Henry Nuxhall (; July 30, 1928 – November 15, 2007) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball, primarily for the Cincinnati Reds. Immediately after retiring as a player, he became a radio broadcaster for the Reds f ...

for his first big-league

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

. Gotay had his most productive season for the Cardinals in . He started 105 games at shortstop and batted .255 with two home runs, 12 doubles and 27

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

in 406 plate appearances. But on November 19, he was sent to the Pirates in a four-player trade that brought veteran shortstop and 1960 National League Most Valuable Player

Dick Groat Richard Morrow Groat (born November 4, 1930) is a former professional baseball and basketball player who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball. He rates as one of the most accomplished t ...

to St. Louis. Groat would help lead the Cardinals to a second-place finish in and the 1964 World Championship and start at shortstop on the 1963 and 1964 National League All-Star teams. Meanwhile, Gotay could not beat out

Ducky Schofield John Richard "Ducky" Schofield (January 7, 1935 – July 11, 2022) was an American professional baseball infielder who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco ...

for the Pirates' shortstop job in and was sent to Triple-A. He would appear in only seven games for Pittsburgh during the 1963 and campaigns. As a

utility infielder In baseball, a utility player is a player who typically does not have the offensive abilities to justify a regular starting role on the team but is capable of playing more than one defensive position. These players are able to give the various s ...

, he spent a half-season with the Angels in , then appeared in one full season and parts of three others for the Astros (1966–69). He retired from baseball after the 1971 minor-league season, which he spent at Triple-A in the Cardinals' organization. In 389 games played in the major leagues, Gotay collected 257 hits, with 38 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 70 RBI. After retiring from baseball, he spent many years as a physical education teacher in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. Gotay died from prostate cancer on July 4, 2008, at age 69 in Ponce. He was buried at the Old Fajardo Municipal Cemetery. He was married to his wife, Silvia Irizarry, for 48 years. He had four children, Julio Gotay, Agustín Gotay, Irma Gotay, and Silvia Gotay.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotay, Julio 1939 births 2008 deaths Charleston Marlins players Columbus Jets players Daytona Beach Islanders players Deaths from cancer in Puerto Rico Deaths from prostate cancer Houston Astros players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball shortstops Oklahoma City 89ers players People from Fajardo, Puerto Rico Pittsburgh Pirates players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Rochester Red Wings players St. Louis Cardinals players San Juan Marlins players Seattle Angels players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Wytheville Cardinals players