1961 Topps #28, Hector Lopez
 

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Hector Lopez's 1961 Topps #28 baseball card is shown
here, both front and back:

http://home.triad.rr.com/ovis/images/028_Lopez-a.jpg

http://home.triad.rr.com/ovis/images/028_Lopez-b.jpg

Hector Lopez was pretty good with the bat, and it was
a damned good thing he was too, because his fielding
was...I mean, at third base he...well, let me let others
tell you...

Bill James, in his "...Abstract" book, says of Hector, that
he was "...as bad a defensive player as you would ever
want to see."

My favorite book about baseball is "The Great American
Baseball Card Flipping Trading And Bubble Gum Book",
by Brandan Boyd and Fred Harris. In it, they say of
Hector Lopez:

"His range was about one step to either side, his hands
seemed to be made of concrete (and he) did not simply
field a ground ball, he attacked it. Like a farmer trying to
kill a snake with a stick. And his mishandling of routine
infield flies was the sort of which legends are made."

Hector came up with the Kansas City Athletics in 1955,
and in his rookie year hit for a .290 average, with 15
home runs. In his time with the Athletics, he mostly
played third base, but would play some second base.

He played for Kansas City until the 1959 season, when
he was traded to the Yankees in May. His totals for
1959 would put him 10th in the league in hits, doubles,
and slugging percentage, and 7th in RBIs.

Casey and the Yankees were still trying to use him at
third base when he got there in '59, but figured out that
he could do less damage defensively in the outfield, so
he ended up playing almost all of his games there in 1960.
Starting in 1960, Hector would be with the Yankees for
five straight pennants.

In 1961, the year of this card, Ralph Houk took over
the helm of the Yankees. Hector got less playing time
and his average suffered, dropping to .222 in 93 games.
In the 1961 World Series against the Reds, Hector
drove in 5 runs in the final game.

Hector would play in over 100 games for the Yankees
through the 1965 season. In 1966 he would only be in
54 games before being released.

Hector had a lifetime batting average of .269.
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John Wade

On Thu, 20 Jan 2005 00:13:18 GMT, John Wade wrote:

snip

Hector Lopez was pretty good with the bat, and it was
a damned good thing he was too, because his fielding
was...I mean, at third base he...well, let me let others
tell you...

Bill James, in his "...Abstract" book, says of Hector, that
he was "...as bad a defensive player as you would ever
want to see."


I didn't realize Lopez was that poor of a fielder. I remember him as
an occasional starter in the outfield for the Yankees; but tend to
think of him more as one of the first men off the bench (along with
Johnny Blanchard) in the early '60s.

I wonder if he was incorrectly placed in the infield early in his
career, because of his size? He had kind of a slender build, and the
prejudice of the times may have pushed him in that direction. Glad
they found a place for him in the outfield where he belonged.

Ron