Albert Anthony "Albie" Lopez (born August 18, 1971) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

. He graduated from

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the United States in ter ...

. He was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

in the 20th round of the

1991 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental first round selections Compensation picks Other notable players *Kevin Stocker, 2nd round, 54th overall by the Philadel ...

. Lopez spent five years with the Indians, compiling a record of 12-14 with a 5.99 ERA between 1993 and 1997. Lopez was selected by the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

in the second round (48th pick overall) of the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or franchises. This occurs mainly in North American sports. One of the ways of stocking the new team or teams is an expansio ...

in 1997. In 1998, Lopez had a career best 2.60 ERA in 54 games for the expansion team Devil Rays. In 1999, his ERA rose to 4.64 while appearing in 51 games. In 2000, Lopez was a swingman, appearing in 45 games while also starting 24 games for the Devil Rays. He won a career-high 11 games while throwing 4 complete games and 2 saves. The Devil Rays then traded Lopez to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

in 2001 after going 5-12 in 20 starts for the Devil Rays. With the Diamondbacks, Lopez recorded 4 wins in 13 starts. Between both clubs, Lopez finished the 2001 season with a major league leading 19 losses, although not officially leading any league due to him having been traded and splitting time between both leagues. He was part of the

2001 World Series The 2001 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Arizona Diamondbacks and the three- ...

winning team over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

. Lopez was criticized for his poor performance on the team, which led him to sign with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in ...

at the end of that season. Lopez was 1-4 in 55.2 innings for the Braves. He then signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

for the 2003 season. Despite having a record of 4-2 in 15 games, his ERA sat at 12.71 for the Royals, which prompted them to releasing Lopez. Lopez then signed a minor league contract with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

in 2005, but was released on March 23, 2005. He signed with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

on April 19, 2005, but was released just under a month later on May 15. During an 11-year baseball career, Lopez compiled 47 wins, 558

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

s, and a 4.94

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

. He was an Eastern League All-Star with the

Canton–Akron Indians The Canton–Akron Indians are a defunct Minor League Baseball team. They played in the Eastern League at Thurman Munson Memorial Stadium in Canton, Ohio from 1989 to 1996. They were affiliated with the Cleveland Indians. History Prior to their ...

, which was the Indians' Double A affiliate in 1993. Lopez pitched during the 2011 season for the

Edmonton Capitals The Edmonton Capitals, originally the Edmonton Cracker-Cats, were a Canadian professional independent minor league baseball team that played between 2005 and 2011 in several leagues. The Capitals are based in Edmonton, Alberta, and are currently ...

of the North American League.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Albie 1971 births Living people Baseball players from Arizona Major League Baseball pitchers Cleveland Indians players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Arizona Diamondbacks players Atlanta Braves players Kansas City Royals players Mesa Thunderbirds baseball players American baseball players of Mexican descent Sportspeople from Mesa, Arizona Baseball players from Atlanta Kinston Indians players Charlotte Knights players Canton-Akron Indians players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Akron Aeros players Durham Bulls players Omaha Royals players Tacoma Rainiers players Tucson Toros players Edmonton Capitals players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Columbus Red Stixx players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Greenville Braves players Princeton Devil Rays players St. Petersburg Devil Rays players