Héctor López obit

Hector Lopez, American baseball trailblazer, dies of lung cancer at 93

During his stint with the Yankees from 1959 to 1966, Lopez, a utility player, contributed to the team’s dominant run of five consecutive World Series appearances.

 

He was not on the list.

Hector Lopez, a former New York Yankee who blazed a trail as the first Black manager in American professional baseball history, has died. He was 93.

Lopez, a Panama native, died Friday, Sept. 30 of lung cancer complications while in a Hudson, Florida hospital, his son, Darrol, told the New York Times.

During his stint with the Yankees from 1959 to 1966, Lopez, a utility player, contributed to the team’s dominant run of five consecutive World Series appearances in multiple ways, suiting up as both an infielder and outfielder, per the outlet.

“Just being able to play in the big leagues for as long as I did at the time that I played is something I’m proud of,” said Lopez in an interview for the 2002 book “That Was Part of Baseball Then.”

“There was a lot of competition, a lot of great players during the ’50s and ’60s. Plus the fact that there weren’t that many Black ballplayers at that time. Especially in the American League. So I guess you can say I made the most out of my opportunities,” he added.

As one of the Yankees’ first Black players, Lopez was already laying the groundwork for future generations during his on-field career, a tradition which he continued after becoming the first Black man to manage a minor league team when the Buffalo Bisons hired him in 1969, the Times reported.

Although Lopez spent only one season in the role, a Black man was not hired as a major league manager for another six years until the Cleveland Indians named Frank Robinson to the position, per the outlet.

Born Hector Headley Lopez Swainson on July 8, 1929, in Colon, Panama, Lopez was exposed to the game from an early age as his father played in local baseball leagues as a pitcher, according to the Times.

Lopez would go on to play for local amateur and professional leagues in Panama before he was recuited to sign with a team in a Quebec professional league. The team later became the minor league affiliate for the Kansas City Athletics, now the Oakland Athletics.

After four full seasons in the minor leagues, Lopez was signed to the Athletics as a third baseman in 1955, launching a 12-year career in the majors where he reportedly played every position but catcher and pitcher, according to the Times.

While a versatile contributor, Lopez was not regarded as a star player. He instead filled key roles for a Yankees dynasty led by stars such as Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris as the club won the American League championship from 1960 through 1964, earning World Series titles in 1961 and 1962.

Prior to the 1952 season, López was acquired by the Philadelphia Athletics from the Drummondville Cubs of the Provincial League for $1,500 ($15,306 today). In 1954, López won baseball's Triple Crown in the Winter League. Throughout his professional career, he played in the Panama winter league where he won three batting titles and regularly led the league in home runs.[7] López developed in the A's farm system, and when the team relocated to Kansas City in 1955 he was called up to the major league club. López made his major league debut in 1955, That season he finished second to Carlos Paula among rookies in batting average and was beaten out by American League strikeout-leading pitcher Herb Score for the Rookie of the Year. He usually played second or third base during his time with the Athletics. During his rookie season, he finished third on the team in home runs, trailing only Gus Zernial (30) and Vic Power (19). He tied Jim Finigan for third on the team in runs batted in (RBIs) with 68, trailing only Zernial and Power, who had 84 and 76, respectively. López was the team's regular third baseman, and was the youngest regular starter on the team. In 1956, the team finished with a 52–102 record, but López had a career-high 153 hits. He also set then-career highs in home runs (18) and runs batted in (69). In his early years, black and white players did not room together on the road, so he roomed with Vic Power even though Power's closest friend on the team was Clete Boyer. In 1957, he had a 22-game hitting streak, which is the all-time Kansas City Athletics team record for the thirteen seasons the franchise played there.

López finished in the top-10 in the American League in both games played and at bats in the 1956 and 1958 seasons, and led the league in sacrifice flies and times grounded into double plays in 1958. López also was in the top 10 in doubles and runs scored in 1958 and in sacrifice hits in 1956. On June 26, 1958, López hit three home runs in a game against the Washington Senators. During his career with the Athletics, he hit .278 with 67 home runs and 269 RBIs, and scored 298 runs. However, his talents were wasted on a team that never finished above sixth place. On May 26, 1959, he was traded with Ralph Terry to the New York Yankees for Johnny Kucks, Tom Sturdivant, and Jerry Lumpe. For all his offensive skills, López led American League third basemen in errors in each of his four full seasons in Kansas City.

Baseball writer and Kansas City Athletics fan Bill James wrote that López was as bad a defensive player as you would ever want to see. The authors of The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book declared López "the all-time worst fielding major league ballplayer".