Javier López (baseball)
| Javier López | |||
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López with the San Francisco Giants
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: July 11, 1977 San Juan, Puerto Rico |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 1, 2003, for the Colorado Rockies | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 29, 2016, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 30–17 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.48 | ||
| Strikeouts | 358 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Javier Alfonso López (born July 11, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies (2003–05), Arizona Diamondbacks (2005), Boston Red Sox (2006–09), Pittsburgh Pirates (2010), and San Francisco Giants (2010–16). He was a left-handed specialist known for his sidearm delivery.
López attended the University of Virginia, earning a degree in psychology despite leaving early to begin his baseball career. He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fourth round of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft. He began his career as a starting pitcher but struggled, and was converted into a sidearm (or submarine) reliever while still in the Diamondbacks' organization. Before the 2003 season, he was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft, but was traded to the Colorado Rockies during spring training. He spent all of 2003 on Colorado's roster, nearly tying the franchise record for most consecutive batters retired and finishing third among major league rookies in games pitched. He struggled the next two seasons, getting claimed off waivers and later sent to the minors by Arizona in 2005. In 2006, he signed with the Chicago White Sox but failed to make the team and spent the first part of the season in the minors before getting traded to Boston during the year.
López served four stints with Boston in 2006. In 2007, he had three different stints but appeared in 61 games, posting a 3.10 earned run average (ERA). He posted a 15.43 ERA in the playoffs but won his first World Series ring as the Red Sox defeated Colorado in four games. In 2008, he spent the entire season on a major league roster for the first time since 2003. He posted a 9.26 ERA in his first 14 games of 2009 before getting sent to the minors for the rest of the season. In 2010, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates but was traded to the San Francisco Giants during the season. He had his lowest ERA that year (2.34) and won another World Series as the Giants defeated the Texas Rangers to win their first World Series since 1954. In 2011, López was one of two major league relief pitchers to throw at least 50 innings without giving up a home run. He won his third World Series in 2012 as the Giants defeated the Detroit Tigers in four games. In 2013, López posted a career-best 1.83 ERA. He won his fourth World Series in 2014 as the Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in seven games. López announced his retirement on February 8, 2017.
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