Julio Osejo

Julio César Osejo Vallejos

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born August 18, 1969 in León, León Nicaragua

Olympics-Reference page

Biographical Information

Julio Osejo was a long-time catcher for the Nicaraguan national team.

Osejo debuted in Nicaragua's amateur leagues in 1988, hitting .143. He had still not topped .250 when he made his debut for the Nicaraguan national team. In the 1991 Intercontinental Cup, he was 1 for 5 with a double as the backup behind Genaro Llanes for the Bronze Medalists. He also appeared in the 1991 Pan American Games. In the 1993 Intercontinental Cup, he hit .243/.263/.351 as Nicaragua's starting backstop and showed off a superb arm, gunning down an incredible 13 of 18 attempted base-stealers. In the Bronze Medal game, he went 1 for 3 against Hidekazu Watanabe in a 9-0 loss to Japan. He batted .286 as Nicaragua's main catcher in the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games. In the 1994 Baseball World Cup, Julio produced at a .189/.230/.270 rate and again threw out most of the people who tried to steal (3 SB, 5 CS). In the Bronze Medal game, he was 0 for 3 against Masanori Sugiura in a 8-1 loss and threw out the only player who tried to steal (Akihiro Togo). He hit four home runs in the 1994 Central American Games to help Nicaragua win it all; it was a team record, breaking Tomás Guzmán's mark.

The León native hit .269/.286/.346 in the 1995 Intercontinental Cup and opponents had three steals in seven times. He was on the Nicaraguan squad that won the Silver at the 1995 Pan American Games. In the 1996 Olympics, he hit only .154/.148/.423, three of his four hits going for extra bases (including two homers, one off Jose Contreras); his cannon arm was definitely in evidence, as opponents stole only twice in 13 tries. In the Bronze Medal game, Nicaragua lost 10-3 to the US; Osejo went 0 for 2 and grounded into a double play before being replaced by Martin Aleman. After gunning down 11 of 12 runners going into that contest, he allowed a steal to the only player who tried to run on him, Chad Green.

In the 1997 Intercontinental Cup, the 28-year-old was 4 for 16 with a homer and two walks. He threw out all three players who tried to steal (Adam Everett, Yobal Duenas and Pierpaolo Illuminati). He was with Nicaragua for a Silver Medal in the 1997 Central American Games. He was 2 for 8 with a run in the 1998 Haarlem Baseball Week. During the 1998 Baseball World Cup, he hit .241/.258/.483 with 9 RBI in eight games, third on the team in RBI behind Norman Cardoze and Henry Roa. He threw out 3 of 4 base-stealers.

Osejo was 3 for 19 with two walks in the 2001 Baseball World Cup and finally failed to gun down half of those who tried to steal (5 SC, 3 CS). He helped Nicaragua to Gold in the 2001 Central American Games and remained with them for the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games. In the 2003 Baseball World Cup, he was only 1 for 14 while splitting time with Adolfo Matamoros. Osejo reached 1,000 career hits in the Nicaraguan amateur leagues in March 2010; he was the 38th player to that mark and only the third catcher (after Marlon Abea and Llanes). His career average stood at just .247 at the time he reached the mark, meaning he made it more based on durability than significant offensive talent, his primary abilities being defensive.

Sources

• Old IBAF site
• 1998 Haarlem Baseball Week
• Article on Osejo reaching 1,000 hits