10 birthday fun facts about Javy López

For Atlanta Braves fans, the 2018 season was a fun-filled ride highlighted by the performances of youngsters Ronald Acuña, Ozzie Albies and Johan Camargo.

To some fans, it may have even harkened back to the 1990s, when Atlanta made the playoffs 14 times in 15 years from 1991 to 2005. During a majority of that span, the Braves were had a steady presence behind the plate: Boricua catcher Javy López.

Monday marks López’ 48th birthday. As a way to celebrate him, here’s 10 facts about him:

1. Catchers aren’t often known to be power hitters; López proved otherwise. In 2003, López broke a 43-year record for most home runs by a catcher in a single season with 43. He finished with the most home runs by a catcher in Braves history with 214.

2. López can appreciate greatness. In his career, he played alongside four Hall of Famers, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Chipper Jones and was managed by another Hall of Famer, Bobby Cox.

3. In 1995, the Braves World Series-winning year, López won the National League Championship Series MVP, as he hit .357 with a home run and three RBI.

4. The 1995 playoff run had a few memorable moments for López. In Game 2 of the World Series leading 4-3 in the top of the eighth, López picked off Manny Ramírez at first to stymie Cleveland’s hopes at a comeback. He also had a two-run home run in the game.

5. López doesn’t hold back. On the difference between Atlanta and Baltimore he said this: “I played with the Braves so many years, and it was so organized and everything. It was crazy over there (Baltimore). There was no control and the manager always felt pressure from the owner (Peter Angelos). In fact, I think the owner was calling down during the game and making decisions for the manager.”

6. He wasn’t afraid to step out of his comfort zone. In order to improve his English, López asked to not have Latino roommates, opting for teammates like Walter Roy and Darren Reeder so that he could improve his English.

7. Even though he roomed with non-Latinos, he stated his favorite teammate was Mexican third baseman Vinny Castilla.

8. While most players are excited to play the first time they are called up to the big leagues, López was anything but. About his first call up he said: “All I could think about was that there were going to be a lot of freaking people there. That whole stadium was packed. I was like ‘oh, my God.’ Cameras were everywhere. People were everywhere. I was just praying that would not have to play that night. It was very intimidating.”

9. López wasn’t always interested in becoming a pelotero. In 2014 López said that when he was a kid, he wanted to be an archeologist when he grew up.

10. López still follows the game closely. A couple years ago López stated his favorite player is Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout.

Featured Image: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images Sport