Angel Lopez (minors03)

Ángel López Berrios

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 200 lb.

• Born April 17, 1973 in Las Villas Cuba

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Ángel López was a productive catcher in the Cuban National Series before he defected in 1998. In 12 seasons, he hit .267/.339/.462 with 115 homers in 2,413 at-bats. Defensively, he fielded .985 and threw out 215 baserunners in 453 tries. Through 2004, only two Cuban backstops had thrown out more runners while allowing fewer steals - Roger Machado and Ariel Pestano (who replaced López as the starter for Villa Clara).

His listed birthdate of April 17, 1973 is almost definitely incorrect as he played 12 seasons in Cuba; yet if the birthdate were true, he would have begun playing in Cuba's top league at age 13. Also, his age was listed at 29 at the time of his defection, which would give him a birthdate of either 1968 or 1969.

In 1996, he was suspended along with teammate Osmani García for contact with defector Rolando Arrojo. He made his first defection attempt, with Villa Clara teammates Jorge Toca, Jorge Diaz, Maikel Jova, and pitching coach Orlando Chinea in March 1998, failed after the group was caught by Bahamian authorities and repatriated several weeks later. A second attempt, in late summer 1998, was successful, with Lopez, Diaz, Jova, Osmani García, and Alain Hernández establishing residency in Costa Rica.

López got into his only major tournament with the Cuban national team in the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games, going 1 for 2. He joined José R. Delgado as the backups to Alberto Hernández - between the two subs, they outhit Alberto, 3 to 2 despite 4 at-bats to 21. He was an alternate on Cuba's 1996 Olympic team for the Atlanta Olympics. Lopez homered off Seth Greisinger in a pre-Olympic exhibition game in the U.S. Cuba instead went with Juan Manrique and Alberto Hernández in the Summer Games themselves. He was 1 for 11 with a walk in the 1997 World Port Tournament, backing up Manrique at catcher.

López signed a free-agent contract with the Florida Marlins in 2002 and played two seasons in their farm system. The veteran played in 2002 with the Jupiter Hammerheads (.225/.293/.458, 8 HR in 45 G) and Portland Sea Dogs (6 for 17, 2B, HR). In 2003, he hit .250/.306/.371 in 43 games for Jupiter.