Julio Esparza

Julio Esparza Ortiz

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born September 7, 1954 in Tlahualilo, Durango Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Julio Esparza played for 10 seasons in the Mexican League. He was a good-glove, light-hitting shortstop.

Esparza debuted in 1973. He hit only .217/.292/.265 for the Tamuin Cafeteritos but led the Mexican Center League's shortstops in putouts (123) and fielding percentage (.963). Riding the strength of his glove, he won All-Star honors at SS. He also was 1 for 10 for Tamuin's parent club, the Petroleros de Poza Rica, backing up Saul Mendoza. In 1974, he played for Ciudad Valles and improved to .298/.362/.347 with 53 runs in 75 games. He led MCL shortstops with 292 assists and was again picked as the league's All-Star at short. He got another cup of coffee backing up Mendoza with Poza Rica, going 4 for 22 with a walk. In 1975, he continued to improve - up to .371/.422/.455 for the Guanajuato Tuzos (second in the MCL if he had qualified) and .253/.298/.323 as Mendoza's backup with Poza Rica.

After not playing in 1976, Esparza batted .230/.296/.262 as the starting shortstop for the 1977 Petroleros. He fielded .9765, only .0003 shy of the top shortstop in the Mexican League that year, Chico Rodríguez. In 1978, he improved offensively at .276/.332/.314 but his fielding percentage fell to .959 and he was just 2-for-9 in steal attempts in his second season starting for Poza Rica. He was on the bench in 1979, going 2 for 22 with a double and four walks. In 1980, he played for the Petroleros and the Piratas de Campeche (his only Mexican League season not spent entirely with Poza Rica), hitting a combined .228/.313/.240.

In 1981, he started for Poza Rica for the third and final time. He put up a .234/.290/.281 batting line but fielded .981, best in the league, with only 9 errors in 100 games. He saw limited action in two more seasons for the Petroleros, going 9 for 60 with 2 triples and 3 walks in 1982 and 1 for 7 in 1983.

Overall, the Tlahualilo native hit .236/.297/.269 with no homers in 1,435 Mexican League at-bats over 530 games. He stole 10 bases in 22 attempts.

Sources

• 1974-1982 Baseball Guides
• The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros