Julio Lugo obit

Former Boston Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo dies at 45

 

He was not on the list.

Former Major League Baseball shortstop Julio Lugo died Monday morning of an apparent heart attack while leaving a gym in his native Dominican Republic, his sister Rina Lugo told ESPN.

Lugo, who played 12 seasons in the majors, was 45. According to ESPN Deportes, he was taken to a hospital in Santo Domingo but upon arriving could not be revived.

A 43rd round draft pick, Lugo broke into the majors as a 24-year-old with the Houston Astros in 2000. He was released by Houston in 2003, after a domestic violence arrest for which he was later acquitted, then was signed by Tampa Bay. He was dealt in 2006 to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He signed a four-year, $36 million contract that offseason with the Boston Red Sox. Despite a shaky first season at the plate (.237 batting average), he played 147 games, stole 33 bases and the Red Sox won the 2007 World Series – Lugo went 5-for-13 with three walks over the four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies.

Boston traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009 and he played the final years of two years of his career with the Baltimore Orioles and Atlanta Braves, respectively. He left the game a lifetime .269 career hitter with 198 steals.

During the MLB offseason, he played for the Leones del Escogido in the Dominican professional league.

He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, and Atlanta Braves. He was the elder brother of pitcher Ruddy Lugo.

Lugo was born in the Dominican Republic and at age 13 moved to Sunset Park, Brooklyn, where he attended Fort Hamilton High School. In addition to playing baseball for Fort Hamilton, he played in the Youth Service League in Brooklyn; alumni of that program include Manny Ramírez and Shawon Dunston. He went on to play college baseball at Connors State College in Oklahoma.

Lugo was traded at the 2006 trade deadline to the Los Angeles Dodgers for infielder Joel Guzmán and minor-league outfielder Sergio Pedroza.

On December 5, 2006, Lugo signed a four-year, $36 million contract with the Boston Red Sox. Lugo was brought on to bat leadoff, but was moved by manager Terry Francona to the bottom part of the order primarily due to his inability to consistently get on base.

During the 2007 season, from June 15 through July 2, inclusive, Lugo went 0–31 at the plate. At that time, Lugo had a .189 batting average. Since 1996, only Greg Vaughn—who had a .163 average with Tampa Bay on June 27, 2002—had a lower batting average with more than 250 at bats 80 games into a season.

On July 22, 2009, Lugo was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Chris Duncan and cash considerations. In 51 games with the Cardinals through the end of the season, Lugo batted .277 with two home runs and 13 RBIs. Defensively, he split time between shortstop (24 appearances) and second base (30 appearances). He batted 2-for-5 in three games of the 2009 National League Division Series, which the Cardinals lost to the Dodgers.

On January 21, 2012, Lugo agreed to a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians with an invitation to spring training. On January 30, the deal was reported to have fallen apart and he remained a free agent. Lugo did not play professionally during the 2012 regular season. His final season was in 2013, as a member of the Peoria Explorers of the Freedom Pro Baseball League, an independent baseball league

Lugo would have turned 46 on Tuesday.