Héctor López

Héctor Headley López Swainson

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 182 lb.

• Debut May 12, 1955
• Final Game September 30, 1966
• Born July 8, 1929 in Colon, Colon, Panama
• Died September 29, 2022 in Hudson, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Hector Lopez played twelve seasons in the majors, all with the Kansas City Athletics and the New York Yankees. He was one of the first Panamanians to come to the major leagues. He appeared in the World Series each year from 1960 to 1964.

Hector spent 1951 to 1955 in the minors before coming to the majors with the Athletics in 1955, and after his major league days he played in the minors again in 1967 and 1968.

Lopez had 136 lifetime major league home runs, and led the American League in sacrifice flies in 1958. That year, on June 26th, he had a three-homer game in an 8-6 win over the Washington Senators. He was the first second baseman in A's history to have such a game, and there would not be another one until rookie Jordan Díaz matched his feat on May 9, 2023 - 65 years later!

He and Roger Maris were teammates at Kansas City, and Hector was acquired by the Yankees in May of 1959 while Maris came to the Yanks in December of that same year.

He managed three times in the minors, in 1969 and 1994-1995. López managed Panama in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He had played for Panama in the 1948 Amateur World Series.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1959)
• Won two World Series with the New York Yankees (1961 & 1962)

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
1969	Buffalo Bisons	International League	58-78	7th	Washington Senators
1994	GCL Yankees	Gulf Coast League	26-32	8th	New York Yankees
1995	GCL Yankees	Gulf Coast League	32-26	8th (t)	New York Yankees

Related Sites

• Hector Lopez at the SABR Bio Project