José Celestino López Echevarria (born November 24, 1983) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. López played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, Florida Marlins, Cleveland Indians, and Chicago White Sox, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants and Yokohama DeNA BayStars.
Professional career
Seattle Mariners
In 2001, López was named the Everett AquaSox Most Valuable Player by the Mariners player development department. Later that season he participated in the Arizona Fall League. He was also named the Mariners' minor league "Player of the Year."
He was named Mariners' minor league "Player of the Year" with the San Bernardino Stampede in 2002, marking the second time he won this award.
During spring training for the 2010 season, López was converted to a third baseman replacing teammate Chone Figgins who in turn took over the second base position.
In a game against the Chicago White Sox on April 23, 2010, López hit his first career grand slam home run against former Mariner J. J. Putz.
López hit his second career grand slam off of Joba Chamberlain on July 10, 2010, in the bottom of the 8th inning leading the Mariners to a 4–1 victory over the New York Yankees.
On July 27, 2010, while running to first base in the 1st inning, López strained his left hamstring. He missed the following six games, returning on August 4. In his first at bat back, he hit a 2 RBI single against the Texas Rangers with the bases loaded and 2 outs in the first inning.
On September 22, 2010, López hit 3 home runs in one game. He was the first Mariner to do this since Mike Cameron in 2002 when he hit 4 against the Chicago White Sox.
Colorado Rockies
200px|thumb|López with the [[Colorado Rockies in 2011.]]
López was traded to the Colorado Rockies for minor league pitching prospect Chaz Roe prior to the non-tender deadline.
In 38 games to start the 2011 season, López hit .208 with two home runs. On May 26, López was designated for assignment. He was released on June 7.
Florida Marlins
On June 9, 2011, days after being released by Colorado, López signed a minor league deal with the Florida Marlins. He had his contract purchased on June 15. He was designated for assignment on July 2, after making 31 plate appearances for the Marlins, hitting just .103. He showed remarkable improvement in August and September, returning to the Marlins and raising his batting average by more than 100 points to .231.thumb|right|Jose Lopez with Cleveland in 2012
Cleveland Indians
López signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on December 16, 2011. He also received an invitation to spring training. On April 1, 2012, it was announced that López had made the major league roster as a reserve infielder. López was designated for assignment on May 1, to make room on the 40-man roster for Johnny Damon. After being subsequently outrighted to Triple-A Columbus, López's contract was purchased by the Indians again on May 12.
López was designated for assignment on August 7. He was released from the Indians August 12.
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox signed López to a minor league contract on August 14, 2012. López was assigned to the Triple-A Charlotte Knights of the International League. He debuted with the White Sox on August 30. In his final 15 games in the majors, he hit .217 with one double in 24 plate appearances over 15 games, starting only twice.
Yomiuri Giants
On January 7, 2013, López signed with the Yomiuri Giants of the NPB. López finished with a .303 average, 18 home runs and 55 RBI in 121 games for Yomiuri. Besides, he posted a .993 fielding percentage while playing 136 games at first base and was honored with the Golden Glove Award. He had a subpar season in 2014, hitting .243 with 22 homers and 57 RBI in 134 games.
Yokohama DeNA BayStars
On December 12, 2014, López signed with the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the NPB. He made 140 game appearances In 2015, batting .291 with 25 home runs and 73 RBI. The BayStars lost to the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in the 2017 Japan Series.
In 2018, he was selected . On November 18, 2019, López signed a 1-year extension to remain with the BayStars.
On October 31, 2020, López recorded his 1,000th hit in NPB, becoming the first non-Japanese player with more than 1,000 hits in both NPB and MLB. On December 2, he became a free agent.
After spending two seasons out of baseball, López announced his retirement from professional baseball on October 24, 2022.
International career
López, along with teammates Félix Hernández and Carlos Silva, played for Venezuela in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In Round 1 against the Netherlands, he hit a solo home run in a 3–1 win.
Personal life
Before the Mariners' game against the Chicago Cubs on June 13, 2007, López was informed that his brother Gabriel died in a motorcycle accident in Venezuela. López still played in the game because his family told him he would not be able to make it home in time for the funeral and they wanted him to stay with the team and keep playing. He went 0-for-4 with an RBI in the game.
On June 16, 2009, he was put on the bereavement list again to visit his cancer-stricken sister but she died before he got there. López remained in Venezuela for his sister's funeral and did not play for about a week.
López and his wife have two children.
See also
- List of Major League Baseball players from Venezuela