Urbano Lugo Sr.

Urbano Ramon Lugo

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 155 lb.

• Born December 5, 1939 in Punto Fijo, Falcon Venezuela
• Died July 29, 2017 in Venezuela

BR register page

Biographical Information

Urbano Lugo Sr. pitched in Mexico and Venezuela; his son Urbano Lugo pitched in the majors.

Lugo was on the Venezuelan national team in the 1963 Pan American Games. He was 3-1 with a 2.58 ERA in his pro debut with the 1963-1964 Leones del Caracas but was 0-1 with a 18.00 ERA (1 IP) in the postseason. He walked 30 in 52 1/3 IP in the regular season, one trouble spot in a nice beginning. He was with the 1964 Monterrey Sultanes of Mexico but was only 1-3 with a 7.20 ERA. In 1964-1965, he had a 2.45 ERA in limited action for Caracas and allowed two earned runs in two postseason innings. The next year, he had a 1-1, 2.45 record for the Leones and pitched one shutout inning in the postseason. In 1966-1967, he worked only 4 2/3 IP, not allowing an earned run. He returned to the Sultanes that summer and was better than his prior stint at 3-7, 3.00 in 48 games. He tied for 5th in the Mexican League in appearances.

The right-hander improved to 4-2 with two saves and a 2.17 ERA for the 1967-1968 Caracas club. Among pitchers with 50+ IP, he was 5th in the Venezuelan League in ERA, between Danny Morris and George Culver. He pitched one inning in the postseason, with no earned runs. In the summer, he was 6-3 with a 3.45 ERA for Monterrey and the Pericos de Puebla. His 55 games pitched were third behind Cesar Gutierrez and Eusebio Elizalde.

He was 1-2 with a save and a 3.65 ERA for the Leones in 1968-1969. He worked 54 games for Puebla in '69, with a 11-7, 4.38 record. He again was third in appearances in the LMB, behind Juan Suby and Enrique Castillo. In 1969-1970, he was 2-1 with two saves and a 4.65 ERA for Caracas. He was 9th in the league with 21 games pitched. He was 1-3 with a 7.43 ERA in a rough summer for the Leones de Yucatán. He was also 0-5 with a 3.71 ERA for the Ciudad del Carmen Camaroneros in the lesser Mexican Southeast League. In 1970-1971, he was 2-3 with a 2.74 ERA for the Leones and tossed 2/3 innings without an earned run in the postseason. The next winter, he saw limited time (2.19 ERA in 7 G).

The Punto Fijo native was 5-3 with a 2.38 ERA for the 1972-1973 Leones, walking 19 and whiffing 74 in 87 innings while giving up only 53 hits. His 7 complete games were second to Jim Rooker. He was 8th in strikeouts and 9th in ERA among those with 50+ innings (between Luis Peñalver and Dennis James). After not pitching in the Mexican League in 1971-1972, he returned in 1973 for a solid campaign for the Broncos de Reynosa (11-8, 2 Sv, 3.1). He fell to 0-2 with a save and a 3.30 ERA in the winter of 1973-1974. He ended his career by going 0-2 for the 1974-1975 Leones.

In 145 games (26 starts) in Venezuela, he had gone 18-16 with 6 saves and a 2.75 ERA. He allowed 320 hits and 144 walks in 373 1/3 IP while striking out 269. In 225 Mexican League games (34 starts), he was 33-31 with a 3.83 ERA (at least 2 saves; they were not tracked for most of his career there). In 538 IP, he allowed 515 hits and 249 walks while striking out 332.

Sources include Pelotabinaria, The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros, assorted Baseball Guides, Pan American Games researcher Bill Mallon