Atlanta Braves López was signed by the Atlanta Braves in 1987 as an
amateur free agent, López made his debut on September 18, 1992, against the
Houston Astros. After sharing duties with
Charlie O'Brien and
Eddie Pérez for four seasons, he established himself as the Braves' regular catcher in 1996. The same season, he led the Braves to win the
National League Championship Series, earning the series
Most Valuable Player honors. He also made the
National League All-Star team from 1997–98. Lopez had his best season in 2003 with a .328
batting average, 43 home runs and 109
RBI in 129 games, including a .378
on-base percentage and a .687
slugging percentage. In that season he broke
Todd Hundley's record for most home runs hit in a season by a catcher (42) and was selected to the
All-Star Game, winning the
Silver Slugger Award and finishing fifth in the
National League MVP ballot. The positional record stood until
Cal Raleigh broke it in 2025. While with the Braves, López caught
Kent Mercker's
no-hitter on April 8, 1994. While López starred for the Braves, he very rarely caught future
Hall of Fame pitcher
Greg Maddux, who was not comfortable pitching to him. Instead the Braves' backup catcher, which varied over the years, would become Maddux's
personal catcher.
Baltimore Orioles Before the 2004 season, López signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles. He hit .316 with 23 HR and 86 RBI, the following year López suffered a broken hand on a foul tip, ending the year with a .278 with 15 HR and 49 RBI while seeing a decline in his game time from 150 to 103 games.
Boston Red Sox In the 2006 midseason, López was acquired by the
Boston Red Sox from Baltimore in exchange for minor league
outfielder Adam Stern and cash considerations. López debuted with Boston on the same day after
Doug Mirabelli left the game early after an ankle injury. On September 8, the Red Sox released López due to
Jason Varitek returning from the
disabled list, which minimized playing time for López.
Retirement In January 2007, it was reported that López reached a preliminary agreement on a $750,000, one-year contract with the
Colorado Rockies, but he did not play for them during the regular season. Before the 2008 season he signed a minor league deal with an invitation to
spring training with the Atlanta Braves, in an attempt to return to the majors. But after being told he would not make the opening day lineup, López retired for good. "I feel perfect physically," he said. "It's just that the hitting wasn't there and unfortunately I couldn’t throw anybody out on stealing attempts. That's a concern. I don't blame them. My role as a backup catcher is to be able to throw runners out." He plans to continue in the Atlanta Braves organization performing other duties. In a 15-season career, López posted a .287 average with 260 home runs and 864 RBI in 1,503 games. His 243 home runs as a catcher ranks eighth on the career list at that position. Strong defensively, he recorded a .992
fielding percentage. In 60 postseason games, he batted .278 (57-for-205) with 27 runs, 14 doubles, 10 home runs, 28 RBI and 14 walks. His final game was on September 2, 2006. ==Personal life==