Al Lopez, Hall of Fame catcher and manager
Alfonso Ramon Lopez was born August 20, 1908 in Tampa, Florida. After a brief stint with the major league club in 1928, he was called up for good in 1930.
The youngsters coming up now just go through the motions necessary to make the play. They should bounce around a little, show some life and zip.
Al's rookie year was one of his best, as he topped .300 (.309) and clubbed 6 home runs for the Dodgers. Over the next five years he gave the team a steady catcher with a solid arm, if a somewhat unspectacular bat, though he batted .301 in 1933. Al was primarily known as a pitcher's catcher, an intelligent player who studied opposing batters constantly.
In 1936 Al was shipped to the Boston Bees, where he once again stood out as the slick-fielding starting catcher for the team. Two years later Casey Stengel, who had traded Al to Boston, arrived to manage the Bees, and two years later, Al was shipped off again, this time to Pittsburgh. By now Al's hitting skills had gone down the drain, but his catching skills were beyond reproach, and he once again earned the starting job for the team. In 1947 he signed on to play with the Cleveland Indians, and retired after one season there.
Al's consistency at the plate (he was a lifetime .261 hitter) and genius behind it allowed him to play well past the normal prime for a major league catcher. By the time he retired, he had played 1,918 games at catcher, a record that stood for over 40 years.
When you're a manager all the worries of the team become your worries.
For his years of service as a catcher and a manager, Al was put into Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame in 1977.
If you don't love what you're doing and you can't give it your best, get out of it. Life is too short. You'll be an old man before you know it.
Career Statistics
Batting:
YEAR TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO BA
1928 BRO NL 3 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1930 BRO NL 128 421 60 130 20 4 6 57 3 33 35 .309
1931 BRO NL 111 360 38 97 13 4 0 40 1 28 33 .269
1932 BRO NL 126 404 44 111 18 6 1 43 3 34 35 .275
1933 BRO NL 126 372 39 112 11 4 3 41 10 21 39 .301
1934 BRO NL 140 439 58 120 23 2 7 54 2 49 44 .273
1935 BRO NL 128 379 50 95 12 4 3 39 2 35 36 .251
1936 BSN NL 128 426 46 103 12 5 7 50 1 41 41 .242
1937 BSN NL 105 334 31 68 11 1 3 38 3 35 57 .204
1938 BSN NL 71 236 19 63 6 1 1 14 5 11 24 .267
1939 BSN NL 131 412 32 104 22 1 8 49 1 40 45 .252
1940 BSN NL 36 119 20 35 3 1 2 17 1 6 8 .294
PIT NL 59 174 15 45 6 2 1 24 5 13 13 .259
TOT NL 95 293 35 80 9 3 3 41 6 19 21 .273
1941 PIT NL 114 317 33 84 9 1 5 43 0 31 23 .265
1942 PIT NL 103 289 17 74 8 2 1 26 0 34 17 .256
1943 PIT NL 118 372 40 98 9 4 1 39 2 44 25 .263
1944 PIT NL 115 331 27 76 12 1 1 34 4 34 24 .230
1945 PIT NL 91 243 22 53 8 0 0 18 1 35 12 .218
1946 PIT NL 56 150 13 46 2 0 1 12 1 23 14 .307
1947 CLE AL 61 126 9 33 1 0 0 14 1 9 13 .262
CAREER 1950 5916 613 1547 206 43 51 652 46 556 538 .261
Managing:
YEAR TEAM G W L PCT FINISH
1951 CLE AL 155 93 61 .604 2
1952 CLE AL 155 93 61 .604 2
1953 CLE AL 155 92 62 .597 2
1954 CLE AL 156 111 43 .721 AL 1
1955 CLE AL 154 93 61 .604 2
1956 CLE AL 155 88 66 .571 2
1957 CHW AL 155 90 64 .584 2
1958 CHW AL 155 82 72 .532 2
1959 CHW AL 156 94 60 .610 AL 1
1960 CHW AL 154 87 67 .565 3
1961 CHW AL 163 86 76 .531 4
1962 CHW AL 162 85 77 .525 5
1963 CHW AL 162 94 68 .580 2
1964 CHW AL 162 98 64 .605 2
1965 CHW AL 162 95 67 .586 2
1968 CHW AL 47 21 26 .447 8
1969 CHW AL 17 8 9 .471 5
CAREER 2425 1410 1004 .584
Hall of Fame Index
Ernie Lombardi | Ted Lyons