José Celestino López Echevarria (born November 24, 1983) is a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

. López played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

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

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. 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 , the team ...

, and

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and for the

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

and

Yokohama DeNA BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current n ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB).

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

In 2001 López was named the

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seatin ...

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

by the Mariners player development department. Later that season he participated in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

. He was also named the Mariners' minor league "Player of the Year." He was named Mariners' minor league "Player of the Year" with the San Bernardino Stampede in 2002, marking the second time he won this award. He led the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leagu ...

with 169 hits and 39 doubles. His .324 average was second-highest among all Marines minor leaguers while his 31 steals ranked fourth. Later that year selected to play with the World Team at the 2002 MLB Future's Game in Milwaukee. López played three different infield positions (second base, shortstop and third base) in 132 games with the Double-A San Antonio Missions in 2003. He was third in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

with 35 doubles. He had 41 multi-hit games, including four 4-hit games. At the all-star break he was selected to start for the Texas League. At the end of the season he was named to Texas League Postseason All-Star Team. López hit .391 with 3 runs, 2 home runs, a steal and 5 RBIs in five postseason games. He again played with Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League. He hit .295 with 13 home runs, 39 RBIs in 74 games with the triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, ...

in 2004 before being called up on July 31. López made his major league debut on July 31, 2004. At the end of the season he hit .311 with 11 doubles, 10 HR, 29 RBI in 46 games with Lara in the Venezuelan Winter League, making this the third time he played for Lara. In 2005, López battled extensive injury, going on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

twice. In 44 games with Tacoma he hit .319 with five home runs and 31 RBIs. He hit .232 with five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 22 RBI in 57 games. López was selected as a replacement for the 2006 All-Star Game due to an injury to

Robinson Canó Robinson José Canó Mercedes (; born October 22, 1982) is a Dominican-American professional baseball second baseman for the Diablos Rojos del México of the Mexican League; he also captains the Estrellas Orientales of the Dominican Professio ...

. During this game, Lopez pinch-ran for

Paul Konerko Paul Henry Konerko ( ; born March 5, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman from 1997 to 2014, most prominently as a member of the Chicago White Sox, where he was a s ...

in the 9th inning and went on to score the game-tying

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

On May 27, 2008, López helped end a seven-game Mariner losing skid with a walk-off

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

off

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

Mike Timlin Michael August Timlin (; born March 10, 1966) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Timlin played on four World Series championship teams in an 18-year career; the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 Toronto Blue Jays, 2004 Bost ...

to score

Wladimir Balentien Wladimir Ramon "Coco" Balentien (; born July 2, 1984) is a Curaçaoan- Dutch former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB ...

. The Mariners won 4–3 and López was later quoted saying jokingly, "I wanted to run to center field...I knew the team was coming to kill me." On May 1, 2009, López hit a walk-off single in a 14-pitch at bat off of

Oakland A's Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

reliever Russ Springer. López fouled off nine consecutive pitches before hitting his walk-off single. In 2009, he had the lowest

range factor Range Factor (commonly abbreviated RF) is a baseball statistic developed by Bill James. It is calculated by dividing putouts and assists by the number of innings or games played at a given defense position. The statistic is premised on the notion ...

of all starting major league second basemen (4.27). During spring training for the 2010 season, López was converted to a third baseman replacing teammate

Chone Figgins Desmond DeChone Figgins (; ; born January 22, 1978), nicknamed "Figgy", is an American former professional baseball third baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Seattle Mariners, a ...

who in turn took over the second base position. In a game against the

on April 23, 2010, López hit his first career

grand slam home run In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners ("bases loaded"), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to ''The Dickson Baseball Dictionary'', the term originated in the ...

against former Mariner

J. J. Putz Joseph Jason Putz (; born February 22, 1977) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks. Early life an ...

. López hit his second career grand slam off of

Joba Chamberlain Justin Louis "Joba" Chamberlain ( ; ; born September 23, 1985) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Cleveland Indians. Cha ...

on July 10, 2010, in the bottom of the 8th inning leading the Mariners to a 4–1 victory over the

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

. On July 27, 2010, while running to first base in the 1st inning, López strained his left hamstring. He missed the following six games, returning on August 4. In his first at bat back, he hit a 2 RBI single against the Texas Rangers with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the first inning. On September 22, 2010, López hit 3 home runs in one game. He was the first Mariner to do this since

Mike Cameron Michael Terrance Cameron (born January 8, 1973) is an American former professional Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, New York Mets, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Bos ...

in 2002 when he hit 4 against the

Colorado Rockies

López was traded to the

for minor league pitching prospect

Chaz Roe Chaz Daniel Roe (born October 9, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Rays. Career R ...

prior to the non-tender deadline. On May 26, 2011, López was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

. He was later released on June 7.

Florida Marlins

On June 9, 2011, just days after being released by Colorado, López inked a minor league deal with the

. He had his contract purchased on June 15. He was designated for assignment on July 2, after making 31 plate appearances for the Marlins, hitting just .103. He showed remarkable improvement in August and September, returning to the Marlins and raising his batting average from over 100 points to .231.

Cleveland Indians

López signed a minor league contract with the

on December 16, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. On April 1, 2012, it was announced that López had made the major league roster as a reserve infielder. López was designated for assignment on May 1, 2012, to make room on the 40-man roster for

Johnny Damon Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2012. During his MLB career, Damon played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland A ...

. After being subsequently outrighted to Triple-A Columbus, López's contract was purchased by the

Indians Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

again on May 12, 2012. López was designated for assignment on August 7, 2012. He was released from the Indians August 12.

Chicago White Sox

The Chicago White Sox signed López to a minor league contract on August 14, 2012. López was assigned to the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

Yomiuri Giants

On January 7, 2013, López signed with the

of the NPB. López finished with a .303 average, 18 home runs and 55 RBI in 121 games for Yomiuri. Besides, he posted a .993

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

while playing 136 games at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and was honored with the Golden Glove Award. He had a subpar season in 2014, hitting .243 with 22 homers and 57 RBI in 134 games.Nippon Professional Baseball statistics
''Baseball Reference''. Retrieved on February 11, 2017.José Celestino López gana por segunda vez el Guante de Oro en Japón
''El Universal'' (Spanish). Retrieved on February 11, 2017.

Yokohama DeNA BayStars

On December 12, 2014, López signed with the

of the NPB. He made 140 game appearances In 2015, batting .291 with 25 home runs and 73 RBI. In the 2016 season, López hit .263 and slugged .534 in 123 games, while collecting career-best marks with 34 home runs and 95 RBI. In addition, he committed only two errors in 1,106 total chances at first base, leading NPB first basemen with a .998 fielding percentage and winning his second Golden Glove Award, becoming just the third Latin American player to add more than one Golden Glove in Japanese baseball history. His countryman Robert Marcano continues to lead the group with four awards and the also Venezuelan Roberto Petagine is in second place with three. In 2017, López was named most valuable player of the

2017 Central League Climax Series The 2017 Central League Climax Series (CLCS) was a post-season playoff consisting of two consecutive series that determined who would represent the Central League in the Japan Series. The First Stage was a best-of-three series and the Final Stage ...

. The BayStars lost to the

Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League. Founded on February 22, 1938, as the Nankai Club, being the first Kansai t ...

in the

2017 Japan Series The 2017 Japan Series (known as the ''SMBC Nippon Series 2017'' for sponsorship reasons) was the championship series of Nippon Professional Baseball's postseason. The 68th edition of the Japan Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the F ...

. In 2018, he was selected . On November 18, 2019, López signed a 1-year extension to remain with the BayStars. On October 31, 2020, López recorded his 1,000th hit in NPB and at the same time he became the first (non-Japanese) player in history to record more than 1,000 hits in both NPB and MLB. On December 2, he became a free agent. After spending two seasons out of baseball, López announced his retirement from professional baseball on October 24, 2022.

International career

López, along with teammates

Félix Hernández Félix Abraham Hernández García (born April 8, 1986), nicknamed "King Félix", is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners from 2005 through 2019. Hernánd ...

and Carlos Silva was a member of Team Venezuela in the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

. In Round 1 against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, he hit a solo home run to give Venezuela a two-run lead and the victory later with a 3–1 win.

Personal life

Before the Mariners' game against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

on June 13, 2007, López was informed that his brother Gabriel died in a motorcycle accident in Venezuela. López still played in the game because his family told him he would not be able to make it home in time for the funeral and they wanted him to stay with the team and keep playing. He went 0-for-4 with an RBI in the game. On June 16, 2009, he was put on the bereavement list again to visit his cancer-stricken sister but she died before he got there. López remained in Venezuela for his sister's funeral and did not play for about a week. López and his wife, Katerine, have two children, José López Jr. and Valentina López.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Jose 1983 births Living people American League All-Stars Arizona League Mariners players Cardenales de Lara players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Cleveland Indians players Colorado Rockies players Columbus Clippers players Everett AquaSox players Florida Marlins players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball players from Venezuela 21st-century Venezuelan sportsmen Major League Baseball third basemen New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Baseball players from Barcelona, Venezuela San Antonio Missions players San Bernardino Stampede players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Japan Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States World Baseball Classic players of Venezuela Yokohama DeNA BayStars players Yomiuri Giants players 2009 World Baseball Classic players