Julio César Sánchez Reynosa (born September 28, 1955) is a Nicaraguan

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

coach and police officer. One of the winningest managers in Nicaraguan baseball history, he managed the

Nicaragua national baseball team The Nicaragua national baseball team (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de Nicaragua'') is the national baseball team of Nicaragua. Considered the best in Central America along with Panama, it represents Nicaragua in internation ...

at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Sánchez also holds the rank of Commissioner General in the Nicaraguan National Police.

Baseball career

Sánchez played nineteen seasons in the Nicaraguan First Division, later renamed the Germán Pomares Championship, from 1974 to 1993. Over the course of his career, he played with Chinandega, Búfalos, Industriales, Bóer, Granada, and Fieras del San Fernando, batting .269 with 1,032 hits and 519 RBIs. As a member of the national team, he hit a memorable home run against the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games, officially known as the IX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Caracas 1983, were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to inclu ...

in Caracas. Sánchez first coached the Nicaraguan national team in 1995, which would be one of the most successful years in the program's history. He led the team to a silver medal finish at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

in Argentina, qualified for the 1996 Olympics at the qualifiers in Canada, won gold at the Pacific Ocean Games in Colombia, and took home a bronze at the Intercontinental Cup in Cuba. As a manager, he was known as a demanding leader who valued discipline from his players. During the qualifiers for the 2008 Summer Olympics, he said the current players on the national team "lack patriotism." Sánchez has managed the

Indios del Bóer The Indios del Bóer ( ''Boers, Boer Indians'') are a baseball club based in Managua, Nicaragua competing in the Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League (LBPN). Their home games are played at the Dennis Martínez National Stadium, Estadio Naciona ...

of the

Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League The Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League ( or LBPN), known as the Campeonato Claro for sponsorship purposes, is the professional baseball league of Nicaragua. The league consists of five teams with a 30-game regular season schedule that runs ...

on several occasions, leading them to a title in the 2011–12 season. He also managed the

Tigres de Chinandega The Tigres de Chinandega (English: ''Chinandega Tigers'') are a baseball club that competes in the Nicaragua Professional Baseball League (LPBN), representing the city of Chinandega. The team has won the league championship four times, in 2006, 2 ...

, but resigned in November 2022 due to his commitment as a Central American scout for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

organization. He was a bench coach for the Nicaraguan national team at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

, as well as the 2026 World Baseball Classic qualifiers in Taiwan. In this capacity, he was also a bench coach for the FENIBA-organized

Leones de León The Leones de León are a professional baseball team competing in the Nicaragua Professional Baseball League (LPBN). Their home games are played at Estadio Héroes y Mártires de Septiembre in León, Nicaragua. Their biggest rival is Indios del ...

squad at the 2025 Serie de las Américas.

Police commissioner

Sánchez participated in the

Nicaraguan Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution () began with rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the ouster of the dictatorship in 1978–79, and fighting between the government and the Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution r ...

as a courier for the

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

. After the Somoza regime was overthrown, he was a founding member of the Nicaraguan National Police. As a police commissioner, Sánchez participated in the repression against the 2018 opposition demonstrations against the regime of

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; ; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator who has been the president of Nicaragua, co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th an ...

in Nicaragua. When asked about the attacks on students at the

Polytechnic University of Nicaragua The Polytechnic University of Nicaragua (, UPOLI) is a university in Managua, Nicaragua. It was founded in 1967. Organization The university has six schools: * School of Administration, Commerce and Finance * School of Law * School of Design * S ...

(UPOLI), he responded: "Ask me about baseball, and I’ll tell you anything." Because of his association with Ortega, he was met with protests from Nicaraguan fans in Miami during the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sánchez, Julio Living people 1955 births Nicaraguan police officers Nicaraguan baseball people Baseball players at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for Nicaragua Pan American Games silver medalists in baseball Sportspeople from Managua Indios del Bóer players Tigres del Chinandega players Leones de León players