An essay

The Story of Julio Lugo

First let's be serious. This is a serious piece. I wrote it...well it's a long story but the point is, this is fiction but I used the sources of ESPN to get a background on Lugo. Normally, a lot of Red Sox fans -- including myself -- go on the attack. I wrote this to create a real image in my head of who this man is. "

Julio Lugo fell on the bed. It was 1:00 am. He couldn't sleep. He was unhappy despite the bravado he gave the press. He was lonely despite the constant attention. He was empty despite the deep financial pockets from a contract.

He was born in the Dominican Republic in 1975. He attended high school in New York and played Sandlot baseball with Manny Ramirez. It's been a long and painful climb to the top built on frustration and a lot of agony but that day of the draft and the signing with a major league team did come but the price was high. The pressure was far more than he bargained for.

His frustrations reached a climax in 2003 when he used his wife as the battering ram of his abuse. He was struggling to make the Astros, but the pressure to compete and make the team was unbearable. He beat her and got an arrest and a pink slip. The Astros let him go. His saving grace was that the court let him go. His wife recanted her statements. Did he really beat her? He's not even sure anymore. Whatever the reason that saved him for the time. He was desperate not to go to jail. Everything would have been over had he been found guilty. His wife knew it too. She stated at trial that she had simply banged her head against the car. That's what she told them. The jury believed it. He was found not guilty and once again luck was with him. Tampa Bay picked him up and gave him a job for the next three years until Boston gave him the gravy train.

Lugo rubbed his forehead and fell under the covers. Nothing seemed to let him close his eyes. Long days being a player in the major leagues. There were reporters everywhere. Every at-bat follows a stream of cameras and commentary. Every loss, every mistake reveals to the world your own humanity and your own incompetence.

In 2007 he committed a record 162 errors with an abysmal batting average. Boston was supposed to fix everything for him. It didn't. He's a laughing stock.

What will he tell his son? What can he tell his son. He's Mr. Denial but he knows once the contract runs out, he'll be looking at unemployment. The Sox were his last hope and he's not going to make it pay off. He sometimes makes the great play but always finds an error mixed in. He hits well when he does but often more than not fails to get on base. Someday his son will ask him about his life. What will he tell him? What sort of story will he say to explain it all? What sort of message will he give his offspring?

He picked up the phone. There was no point in sleeping. He called his wife but the machine kicked in. It was 2:00 am.