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

Goldsboro Goldbugs

The Goldsboro Goldbugs were an Eastern Carolina League and Coastal Plain League baseball team based in Goldsboro, North Carolina, USA. Don Heffner is one athlete who played for them....

 and Mayodan Millers

Mayodan Millers

The Mayodan Millers were a Bi-State League baseball team based in Mayodan, North Carolina, USA that played from 1938 to 1941. They were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1939....

. 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 (276), hits allowed (273), runs (120) and earned runs (95). No other pitcher threw more than 177 innings or won more than 12 games (Jake Wade

Jake Wade (baseball)

Jacob Fields Wade was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Detroit Tigers , Boston Red Sox , St. Louis Browns , Chicago White Sox, , New York Yankees and Washington Senators . Wade batted and threw left-handed. He was nicknamed "Whistlin' Jake"...

 accomplished both).

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

Richmond Colts

The Richmond Colts were a minor league baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia that existed on-and-off from 1894 to 1953. They played in the Virginia League in 1894, and in another Virginia League in 1900, and another Virginia League from 1906–1914 and from 1918-1928...

 and Milwaukee Brewers

Milwaukee Brewers

The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...

. 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. Following his time with Milwaukee, he pitched three more average seasons.

For most of his career, he was not a high-average (he did not hit above .235 from 1944 to 1946) or power hitter (he eclipsed ten home runs only once), however in 1950, he hit a combined .328 with 63 doubles, five triples and 12 home runs for the Ballinger Cats

Ballinger Cats

The Ballinger Cats were a Longhorn League baseball team based in Ballinger, Texas, USA that played from 1947 to 1950. They were affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds in 1948. As well, they played their home games at Ballinger Rec. Park that season...

 and Del Rio Cowboys

Del Rio Cowboys

The Del Rio Cowboys were a Longhorn League and Rio Grande Valley League baseball team based in Del Rio, Texas, USA. Dick Midkiff and Sam Harshaney played for them....

. Despite spending only 96 games with Ballinger, he led the team in doubles with 41, out-pacing the next closest batter (Walter Williams, who spent 105 games with the team) by 17. Previously, he had never hit more than 27 doubles in a season. In 1952, he hit .316 with the Decatur Commodores

Decatur Commodores

The Decatur Commodores were a professional minor league baseball team based in Decatur, Illinois. They played, with sporadic interruptions, from 1900 to 1974 in a variety of minor leagues, but spent the majority of their existence in the Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League , later joining the...

, smashing 29 doubles and leading the team.

Overall, in nine minor league seasons as a pitcher, he went 96-76 in 259 games. In 13 years as a batter, he had at least 2,782 at-bats and 749 hits, at least 175 of which were doubles, over 867 games.

He managed the Leesburg Dodgers

Leesburg Dodgers

The Leesburg Dodgers were a Florida State League baseball team based in Leesburg, Florida, USA that played during the 1949 season. They used four different managers and went 37-97. 44-year-old Luke Hamlin, who managed for them, also pitched in eight games for them....

 for part of the 1949 season, replacing Jack Harrison and being replaced by Lou Haneles

Lou Haneles

Louis Aaron Haneles was a minor league baseball player, manager, general manager and owner....

. In 1952, he led the Decatur Commodores to a 73-52 record, and eventually the league championship.

Cuban statistics

Year	Team	League	G	CG	W	L	Pct.
.
1938-39	Cienfuegos	Cuban	3	0	1	0	1.000
1941	Cienfuegos	American Series American Series An American Series was a set of games played between Cuban and American baseball teams in Cuba. An American team would travel to Cuba and play various professional, all-star and/or amateur Cuban teams throughout the country...	20	3	6	4	.600
1942	Cienfuegos	American Series	21	7	5	8	.385
1943-44	Cienfuegos	Cuban	20	7	7	5	.583
1944-45	Marianao Tigers	Cuban	20	2	2	8	.200
1945-46	Habana	Cuban	18	5	4	3	.571
1945-46	Marianao Tigers	Cuban	10	2	3	4	.429
1946-47	Matanzas	Cuban	8	--	4	3	.571
1947-48	Habana	Cuban	5	0	0	0	.000
Totals			125	--	32	35	.478