- Felipe López (baseball)
Infobox MLB player
width=250
name=Felipe López
positionplain=Shortstop /Second baseman /Left fielder
team=St. Louis Cardinals
number=22
bats=Switch
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1980|5|12
birthplace=city-state|Bayamón|Puerto Rico
debutdate=August 3
debutyear=2001
debutteam=Toronto Blue Jays
statyear=August 19, 2008
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.256
stat2label=Home run s
stat2value=67
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=314
teams=
*Toronto Blue Jays (by|2001-by|2002)
*Cincinnati Reds (by|2003-by|2006)
*Washington Nationals (by|2006-by|2008)
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|2008-present)Felipe López (born
May 12 , by|1980 inBayamón, Puerto Rico ) is a Puerto RicanMajor League Baseball second base /shortstop who currently plays for theSt. Louis Cardinals .High School career
In 1998, López graduated from
Lake Brantley High School inAltamonte Springs, Florida where he set school records by hitting .521 with 15 doubles, five triples, sevenhome run s, 28runs batted in and 34stolen base s in his senior year. He was also voted Florida's Player of the Year, was a "USA Today " All-USA selection, and was rated by "Baseball America " as the best defensive high school shortstop in the country.Personal life
*His favorite song is "This Is Why I'm Hot" which was played when he came up to the plate while a member of the
Washington Nationals Professional career
Toronto Blue Jays
Lopez was a 1st round pick of the
Toronto Blue Jays (8th pick overall) in the1998 Major League Baseball Draft . López made his major league debut onAugust 3 , by|2001, and played second base and shortstop part-time.Cincinnati Reds
On
December 1 , by|2002, the Blue Jays traded the switch-hitting Lopez to the Reds as part of a four team trade with theOakland A's and theArizona Diamondbacks . The Toronto Blue Jays sent him to the Cincinnati Reds, who sent pitcherElmer Dessens to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks sentfirst baseman Erubiel Durazo to the Oakland Athletics, who, in turn, sent minor league pitcherJason Arnold to the Blue Jays. The trade was a disaster for the Jays [cite web |url=http://danjulien.atspace.com/ricciardi.htm#9 |title=Statistical breakdown of the Lopez/Arnold trade] as Arnold never became a major leaguer and the Jays have been stuck with a hole at shortstop since the trade utilizingRuss Adams , John McDonald,Chris Woodward ,Royce Clayton , andDavid Eckstein .After backing up
Barry Larkin during the by|2003 and by|2004 seasons, López earned the starting job in by|2005. López's first season as the Reds' regular shortstop was his breakthrough. He clubbed 23 home runs and stole 15 bases while compiling a .291 batting average with a .352on-base percentage . This earned him the honor of being selected to the 2005 National League All-Star team.Washington Nationals
López was traded by the Reds on
July 13 , by|2006, to theWashington Nationals along withAustin Kearns andRyan Wagner forGary Majewski ,Bill Bray , Royce Clayton,Brendan Harris , andDaryl Thompson , a minor league prospect. In 2006, he tied for the major league lead in errors at shortstop, with 28, and had the lowestfielding percentage (.954).When first traded to the Nationals, López's original jersey number was 7, however when
Damian Jackson was traded, he turned in his number 7 for Jackson's previous jersey number 2.In by|2007, he had the lowest fielding percentage of all NL shortstops, .957, and often found himself switching between the position of shortstop and second base. This switch was due to the recovery of the Nationals original shortstop,
Christian Guzman , who had injured himself in 2005, though he later gave the position back to Lopez after sustaining yet another injury during the 2007 season.On
April 24 , by|2008, López hit a grand slam to give Washington a 7-3 lead in route to a 10-5 victory over the Mets. OnJuly 31 , 2008, López was released by the Nationals.t. Louis Cardinals
López was signed by the
St. Louis Cardinals onAugust 5 , 2008. [ [http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20080806&content_id=3261412&vkey=pr_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl Cardinals sign free-agent Felipe Lopez] ] He debuted August 6 when the Cardinals played theLos Angeles Dodgers . He played left field and recorded a single in his first at bat, finishing the game 1 for 3.References
External links
* [http://sports.yahoo.com/mlbpa/players/6415 Yahoo MLB Profile]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/02/21/VI2007022101298.html 2007 spring training spotlight video from "The Washington Post"]
* [http://stlcardinals.scout.com/a.z?s=321&p=8&c=1&nid=3883811 Lopez player profile at Scout.com]
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