Roberto Lopez (minors02)

Roberto López Ocasio
(Boogie)

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 160 lb.

• School Oklahoma State University

• Born November 15, 1971 in Bayamon Puerto Rico
• Died February 5, 2022

BR register page

Biographical Information

Roberto López peaked at AAA. He had previously played in the Olympics.

López played for the Puerto Rican national team in the 1990 Goodwill Games at age 18. He hit .323/.417/.387 in the 1990 Baseball World Cup and fielded .959 as Puerto Rico's starting second baseman. He helped Puerto Rico take the Silver Medal at the 1990 Central American and Caribbean Games. He took home another Silver at the 1991 Pan American Games, when Puerto Rico finished ahead of Team USA.

The Bayamon native hit .232/?/.304 for Oklahoma State University in 1992; Baseball America ranked the school 8th in the country at year's end. He started for Puerto Rico in the 1992 Olympics and batted .176/.176/.235 with one run in five games while fielding .962 at 2B. His best day came against the US, when he had two hits, including a double.

He batted .272/?/.375 and stole 23 bases for Oklahoma State in 1993. They finished 6th in the nation and made it to the 1993 College World Series. He was with Puerto Rico for a Bronze in the 1993 Central American and Caribbean Games. In 1994, he starred for an Oklahoma State squad that finished 9th in the NCAA. He hit .364, stole 33 bases, slugged .531 and scored 76 runs. He was second in the Big Eight Conference in average, .026 behind David Sanderson. He and Ricky Gutierrez were the All-Big Eight second basemen that year. He was 12th in NCAA Division I in runs, one behind Todd Walker.

The Milwaukee Brewers took him in the 6th round of the 1994 amateur draft, one round after Steve Woodard and two before Ronnie Belliard. He was 2 for 16 with 3 walks that summer for the Stockton Ports. In 1995, he saw regular action at AA with the El Paso Diablos. He produced at a .312/.419/.410 clip with 8 triples, 77 walks and 80 runs. He was 5th in the Texas League in average (between Jovino Carvajal and Bill Mueller), 6th in runs (everyone with more wound up in the majors), tied Tony Diggs and Marcus Jensen for 6th in triples, was second in walks (four behind Brian Banks) and was second in OBP (.015 behind Johnny Damon). He did not make the TL All-Star team as another former Big Eight player, Jeff Berblinger, was picked instead. Among Brewers farmhands, he tied Greg Martinez for 5th in runs, tied Junior Betances for third in triples, was 3rd in walks and was second in OBP (.006 behind Bo Dodson).

He started at second in 1996 for the New Orleans Zephyrs in AAA. His offensive numbers were down (.233/.331/.340) though he did draw 62 walks. He was 5th in the 1996 American Association in walks drawn, between Erik Pappas and Darren Burton. He also tied Dave Elliott for 4th in the Milwaukee chain in this department. He missed all of 1997, presumably due to injury. He returned in 1998 but down in El Paso as a backup infielder; he hit .271/.351/.372 in 73 games to end his pro career. He batted .269/.369/.371 in 321 minor league games, drawing 164 walks and scoring 156 times.

Primary Sources

• 1993-1996 Baseball Almanacs
• Old IBAF website
• Article on passing