2007-2009

Julio Lugo was a part of the 2007 World Champion Red Sox and six other teams as well. He was born on November 16, 1975, in Barahona, Dominican Republic. His parents were divorced, and his father worked in the shipping business in Japan and rarely communicated with the family. His mother moved him, his brother Ruddy and his sister Rhina to the United States from the Dominican Republic in 1982.

Julio went to Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn and was one of the city’s top infielders. He hit .420 with a .550 slugging percentage in his senior year in 1993. He then attended Connors State College in Warner, Okla., and was drafted by the Houston Astros in the 43rd Round of the 1994 Amateur Draft. He was, by a large margin, the best player that the Astros drafted that year.

Lugo didn’t sign with the Astros immediately and returned to Connors State for a second year. He was a first-team shortstop for the NJCAA Region II Team in May of 1995 and signed with the Astros on May 19th, just before his window to sign with the team closed.

Julio was 19 years old when he started his pro baseball career, and it took four seasons for him to advance out of Class-A ball. However, as he continued to hit, run and show improved defense, his stock rose in the organization. The Astros finally promoted him to Double-A Jackson in 1999. He was rated as the Astros’ No. 7 prospect before the season, and he did nothing to hurt his standing, thanks to a .319 batting average, 25 stolen bases and 10 homers.

He began 2000 with the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs but was quickly promoted to the major leagues. Aside from a handful of games with the Zephyrs in 2000 and a few with the Gwinnett Braves in 2011, Julio remained in the majors for the rest of his MLB career. He debuted with the Astros as a pinch-runner on April 15th against the Padres. He was inserted as a pinch-hitter or defensive replacement into games infrequently at first but picked up his first major-league hit against the Dodgers’ Matt Herges on April 19th. As the season wore on, he found ways to play more regularly. He played all three outfield positions as well as both middle infield positions.

Julio took over the role of starting shortstop in 2001 and had a fine sophomore campaign. He hit .263 with 93 runs scored and 10 home runs. He was slowed by injuries in spring training in 2002 and lost some playing time to rookie Adam Everett. His season came to an abrupt end on August 12th when he took a Kerry Wood fastball off his left forearm, breaking it. He recovered, but his career in Houston came to an unexpected and controversial close in 2003, when he was arrested for assaulting his then-wife as she drove him to Minute Maid Park in April. The Astros released him immediately. He was acquitted of the charges in July after his wife testified that she had exaggerated the incident and that he hadn’t meant to hurt her.

Shortly after his release from Houston, Lugo signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and played very well. He hit a career-high 15 home runs and batted .275 with Tampa. He held down the starting shortstop role for the next two seasons. On June 24, 2004, he became the first Rays player to record five hits in a game, accomplishing it against Toronto.

His 2005 season was one of his best, as he batted .295h a career-high 39 stolen bases and 61 walks. Julio's 2006 salary was $4.6 million, and while that was the eighth-highest total for a shortstop in baseball, it also made him a cost-effective mid-season pickup for a contending team. The Rays kept discussing a long-term deal, and according to the Tampa Bay Times, Rays vice president Andrew Friedman arrived at Tropicana Field on the morning of July 31st confident that an extension could be worked out. In the end, however, the Los Angeles Dodgers came through with a deal the team could not pass up. Julio was traded to Los Angeles and the move allowed Tampa to bring up top prospect B.J. Upton and the recently acquired Ben Zobrist to fill in at shortstop.

The Dodgers saw Julio as a super utility player, capable of playing all the infield and outfield spots as needed.  Unfortunately, after several years of steady play at one position, shuffling all over the field didn’t suit him. He struggled at the plate, hitting .219 over 49 games without a single home run.

David Ortiz, a fellow Dominican and good friend of Julio, lobbied hard for his acquisition to manager Terry Francona, and the manager didn’t need much convincing. The Red Sox tried to acquire the shortstop at the 2006 trade deadline, but when no deal could be reached, the team did the next-best thing: they signed him to a 4-year, $36 million deal in December of 2006.

Ortiz even was part of the welcoming committee at the press conference introducing Lugo to the media. Julio had a disappointing season and had to be removed from his role as leadoff hitter in midseason. He did have his productive moments, though. He drove in 73 runs, just two shy of a career high. He stole 33 bases and was caught just 6 times. He had the 2-run infield single that completed the “Mother’s Day Miracle,” as the Sox scored 6 runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat Baltimore 6-5. He and Jason Varitek homered in the ninth inning to beat the Rays 8-6 on September 22, clinching a playoff berth for the Sox. His postseason was much better. He hit .300 in a 3-game sweep of the Angels in the ALDS. He was a .200 hitter in the 7-game series win over Cleveland in the AL Championship Series but hit 2 doubles and drove in 2 runs. Finally, he batted a sizzling .385 as the Red Sox swept the Rockies in four games of the World Series. He also made a couple of slick defensive plays to defuse potential Rockies rallies, too.

Julio never played in more than 100 games in a season after 2007. Injuries and the fine play of infielders Alex Cora and Jed Lowrie cut into his playing time in 2008. Julio hit .268, but his power all but vanished. His defense, which was about league average at his best, fell off as well. The Red Sox designated him for assignment on July 17, 2009. He had played in 37 games to that point and hit .284 with just 8 RBIs. He was ultimately dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals and he finished the season well for the Redbirds.

He was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles in April of 2010. He was acquired as insurance in case second baseman Brian Roberts was limited because of a herniated disk in his back. He batted .249 and was granted free agency at the end of the season. He remained a free agent until he signed with the Atlanta Braves in May of 2011. The 35-year-old infielder joined his seventh team in June. After several hitless games and a batting average at .136, Atlanta released him. It was the end of his major-league career.

Julio returned to the Dominican Republic and played three more seasons of winter ball with the Leones del Escogido. He also represented the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Series. His career came to an official close after the 2013-14 season.

He was inducted into the Connors State College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013 and returned to Boston in 2018 to take part in an alumni and crushed a 2-run home run off Pedro Martinez that hit a billboard above the Green Monster.

Julio Lugo  died on November 15th, reportedly from a heart attack he suffered while leaving a gym, at the age of 45. He would have celebrated his 46th birthday the next day.