1980-1983

Julio Valdéz, a Dominican infielder, played parts of four seasons with the Boston Red Sox in the early 1980s. As a utilityman who’d played only 65 major-league games, Valdéz made newspaper headlines in the spring of 1983 as the subject of a rape allegation. Although a grand jury refused to indict him, Valdéz never got another chance in the majors. Yet his work ethic, which he learned on his homeland’s dusty fields, helped him overcome obstacles and stay involved in the game he loved beyond his playing days.

Julio Julián Castillo Valdéz was born June 3, 1956, in San Cristóbal. This town is about 25 miles west of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. Young Julio grew up in Nizao, in the province of Peravia, a little further west on the Caribbean Sea coast.

Julio was known by his maternal family name. His parents — Manuel De Jesús Castillo and Minerva Aurora Valdéz — were never married. Julio was raised by his grandmother, Augustina, in Nizao.

The Valdéz family were subsistence farmers, growing just enough to eat and survive in a land with high unemployment and a poor economy. As a boy, Julio would help his uncle Carmelo on the family plantation’s fields, where they grew tomatoes and rice. The fields were only reachable by foot or horse, since there were no roads.

Julio finished grades 1-6 at Escuela Primaria Nizao. At age 16, he drove a truck for his father, delivering furniture. His father was the manager of a local slow-pitch softball team. The team needed a shortstop, so he asked Julio to play. Julio switched to baseball the next year, playing for Baní (Peravia’s capital) in the Dominican Amateur League. 

Julio was signed by Boston as an undrafted free agent in December 1975 at the age of 19. His first taste of professional baseball was with their Class-A club in Winter Haven of the Florida State League in 1976. He spent 1977 with Winston-Salem in the Carolina League (also Class A). In 1978 Julio improved at Double-A Bristol (Connecticut). His improvement at the plate could be attributed to his transformation from batting right-handed to switch-hitting.

In 1979 Julio moved up to Triple-A Pawtucket (Rhode Island). Julio played another 101 games at Pawtucket in 1980. He got his first major league action when he was called up by Boston in September. His first appearance was on September 2nd as a ninth-inning replacement for Rick Burleson with the Red Sox leading the Angels, 10-2.

The Red Sox, trailing Seattle 11-1 in the fifth inning on September 7th, made a number of substitutions. Julio again replaced Burleson at short and recorded his first major-league hit and RBI with a double to right. The rookie made his first major-league start at shortstop against Cleveland on September 16th. He went 2-for-4 in the 9-5 win. Julio hit his only major-league home run in the second game of a doubleheader on October 4th, the lone Red Sox run in a 3-1 loss. He finished the season batting .263 (5-for-19) and remained error-prone, committing three in 46 chances (.935).

Julio was again playing winter ball for Licey when he read in the newspaper that the Red Sox had traded Burleson, giving him a chance at a roster spot in 1981. So, he spent extra time working on his fielding. However, his chance didn’t come until later. The players’ strike wiped out a couple of months.

Meanwhile, Valdéz had a strong season at Pawtucket, batting .258 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 112 games and again showing improvement in the field. In one of those games he fell into a slump — the historic 33-inning marathon against Rochester that started on April 18th. When the game was finally finished after play resumed on June 23rd, Julio had gone 2-for-13.

Julio returned to Boston in mid-August after play resumed, and appeared in 17 games, starting four. Julio was out of minor-league options entering the 1982 season. Julio spent the entire 1982 season with Boston but appeared in only 28 games, mostly as a late-inning defensive replacement for Glennj Hoffman.

Valdéz was the starting second baseman for the Red Sox on Opening Day 1983 because Jerry Remy began the year on the disabled list. He started eight games but batted a woeful .125 (3-for-24) and played in only four more games, batting once. He finished what would be his last season in the majors with only 25 at-bats for a career total of 87.

On May 6th, Julio was arrested during a game at Fenway Park against the Mariners. He was charged with statutory rape and was released on $1,000 cash bail. Lt. Edward McNelly had been investigating claims that a rape had occurred on April 5th at the Fenway Motor Hotel (a Howard Johnson’s) on Boylston Street near Fenway Park. The teenage girl from Berkley, Massachusetts had been missing since March 28th and found near Fenway on April 20th. She claimed she had met Julio a couple of years earlier in Pawtucket. She claimed she met up with Valdéz on April 5th and lied about her age (17, not 14).

A media fiasco ensued. The alleged victim said she might be pregnant but that she “didn’t want to get him [Valdéz] in trouble.” Valdéz pleaded innocent to the statutory rape charges in Roxbury District Court on May 9th. The alleged victim was a baseball fan who had autographs of and pictures taken with many Red Sox players.

The hearing was moved to May 24th. The alleged victim, who had again run away from home while awaiting the hearing, was not pregnant. Judge Julian Houston postponed the hearing until June 9th. When the trial resumed, Valdéz acknowledged he knew the girl but denied any sexual relations. Judge Houston moved that the case be decided by a Suffolk County Grand Jury, which met on July 13th and refused to indict Valdéz, citing lack of evidence.

Julio was retained by the Red Sox and sent to Double-A New Britain. It seemed like this was a step backwards, but it was more of a relief. Julio remained with New Britain to start the 1984 season. Julio finished the year split equally between New Britain and Pawtucket, batting a combined .262.

Julio returned to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball for the Caimanes team. Julio finally received a fresh opportunity in 1985 when he signed a minor-league contract with Iowa, the Triple-A club of the Chicago Cubs in the American Association.

There was one last legal hurdle for Valdéz to clear. In 1983, the family of the alleged victim had filed a civil lawsuit against him, seeking $700,000 for damages related to emotional distress. The case was dismissed on August 4, 1986. The long ordeal was finally over.  Julio may have lost four seasons in the major leagues because of the allegation.

Julio played his last season in his homeland with Leones del Escogido in the winter of 1986-87, getting into 14 games. He’d also played with Escogido the previous winter after coming over from Azucareros del Este.

Julio lost much of the 1987 season, his last full year with Iowa, when he sustained a knee injury in late July. In 1988, Julio, still recovering from the injury, was nonetheless invited to spring training. It never panned out, however; Julio needed extra time rehabbing and stayed in extended spring training. The Cubs sent him to their affiliate in Pittsfield, Massachusetts of the Double-A Eastern League, where he played in only 25 games and batted under .200. He was promoted back to Iowa briefly after spending time at Class-A Winston Salem (now a Cubs’ affiliate) as player-coach.

Valdéz’s playing career in the U.S. had concluded. He stayed within the Cubs organization, first as an instructor with the Wytheville (Virginia) affiliate in the Appalachian League in 1989. From the mid-1990s through the first two decades of the 21st century, Julio had stints as a manager of Dominican Summer League teams affiliated with major league clubs. From 1995-96 he managed the combined DSL Cubs/Padres club, from 1997-2001 the DSL Cubs, in 2008 the DSL Yankees, and from 2015-2018 the DSL White Sox. In later years, Julio worked as a first-base coach and assistant manager with the Licey Tigers.

Julio Valdéz died in Nizao on July 24, 2022 at the age of 66, after suffering from prostate cancer for several months.