Julián Acosta

Who is Julián Acosta?

Julio "Julian" Acosta was a versatile minor league baseball player who won 96 games as a pitcher, collected at least 749 hits as a batter and spent time at first base and in the outfield. He also spent several years pitching in Cuba and was a manager for a couple of seasons.

He began his career as a pitcher, moving to the field later on. In his first professional season, 1940, he went 13-10 with a 4.12 ERA in 38 games for the Goldsboro Goldbugs and Mayodan Millers. With the Goldbugs the next year, he went 17-17 with a 3.10 ERA in 40 games, leading the teams in wins, losses, appearances, innings pitched, hits allowed, runs and earned runs. No other pitcher threw more than 177 innings or won more than 12 games.

After a mediocre 1942, Acosta had perhaps his best season as a pitcher in 1943, going a combined 20-9 with a 2.33 ERA in 39 games for the Richmond Colts and Milwaukee Brewers. In 270 innings of work, he allowed only 207 hits. Despite splitting the season between two teams, he managed to lead the Brewers in wins. He spent the next two years with the Brewers, going 13-10 with a 3.89 ERA and then 15-10 with a 3.44 ERA.