Mickey Lopez Might Be Special

by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 3:45 PM PDT in Miscellaneous

Double06 reminded me about Mickey Lopez a few hours ago. For some reason, Mickey Lopez is a guy who's stuck in my head all this time. Lopez, you might remember - but probably don't - was an infielder the Mariners brought north at the end of the 2004 season for a cup of coffee. He wound up appearing in six games, going 1-4 with a single.

He didn't just go 1-4 with a single, though. He went 1-4 with an infield single on a grounder to second base. He went 1-4 with an infield single in the final at bat of his season, and the final big league at bat of his career. He went 1-4 with his first and final hit. Remember how happy we were for Jamie Burke when he hit his first big league homer in the last game of the 2007 season at the age of 36? Mickey Lopez got his first big league hit in the last game of the 2004 season at the age of 30, after playing 1,160 games in the minors.

I can't find a good place to look up whether or not Mickey Lopez is the only player in Major League history to record an infield single as the only hit of his career. But if he isn't the only one, he's got to be one of few.

Edwin Jackson will tell his grandkids about his no-hitter. Eric Chavez will tell his grandkids about his 230 home runs. And Mickey Lopez will tell his grandkids about his one Major League single off Francisco Cordero in his and Edgar Martinez's final game. One Major League single that he only picked up by putting his head down and running as hard as he could.

Good for you, Mickey Lopez.

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You just reminded me of John Paciorek.

Paciorek, who had been called up when rosters expanded in September, got into the final game of the 1963 season, on September 29, as the right fielder. He made two running catches, went to the plate five times, hitting three singles and drawing two walks, for a perfect career batting average and on-base percentage of 1.000, scoring four runs and driving in three during the game. That game, a 13-4 victory over the New York Mets, was the only major league game in which Paciorek would play.

by msb on Aug 31, 2010 3:53 PM PDT reply actions

I can't tell whether this is sadder than Mickey Lopez's story.

by Joe Metro on Aug 31, 2010 3:57 PM PDT up reply actions

I wouldn't say either of them is particularly sad

They’re either sad or heartwarming and inspirational, depending on your mood.

by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions

I don't see how this is sad.

They both got hits in the majors. Sure they probably wish they could have had hall of fame careers, but they will still always be major league ball players. If somebody told me today that if I spent the next 10 years in the minor leagues, and at the end of that I would get called up to the majors for one game and get one hit and then be done with baseball forever I would do it in a heartbeat.

by wetzelcoal on Aug 31, 2010 4:05 PM PDT up reply actions

I'd skip it and avoid 10 years of bus travel

by lemonverbena on Aug 31, 2010 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions

Exactly. I got stuff to do with my summers. Stuff that doesn't happen in Clinton, Iowa.

by yuniform on Aug 31, 2010 4:40 PM PDT up reply actions

It's stories like these...

that remind me why I watch baseball every day. I’ll never forget the smile on his face and his teammates faces.

by basebliman on Aug 31, 2010 3:59 PM PDT reply actions

I just wish the MLB.tv archives from 2004 still worked

by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 4:00 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs

It seems like baseball has the toughest or longest journey to the highest level.

This makes moments like that so awesome, more so to me than, say, someone getting their first NFL tackle or NBA basket

by bomdal on Aug 31, 2010 4:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Yeah.... no. That's not true.

De Gutibus non disputandum est

by Bearskin Rugburn on Aug 31, 2010 6:46 PM PDT up reply actions

Really? I don't have numbers to back it up, but I feel the same as Bomdal.

Mostly because average baseball players don’t seem to hit the bigs until age 25 or so, while football players are peaking at 25 and NBA players often are playing at 19 or 20.

It just seems like there are many more years of toiling that go into an MLB career.

I am going to come into your house at night and rec up the place.

by HititHere on Sep 1, 2010 9:23 AM PDT up reply actions

282 careers since 1901 in which a position player

has exactly one single.

by Matthew on Aug 31, 2010 3:59 PM PDT reply actions

Jose Flores eliminates the chance of Mickey being the only non-white person to do it

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/f/florejo01-bat.shtml

by Matthew on Aug 31, 2010 4:17 PM PDT up reply actions

Only Mickey Lopez has an OPS+ over 100

by Edgar for Pres on Aug 31, 2010 4:28 PM PDT up reply actions

These guys are terrible

by Jeff Sullivan on Aug 31, 2010 5:55 PM PDT up reply actions

I remember watching this.

And it was awesome.

"Seems to me if you bought your Sunday beer on Saturday night, this becomes a complete non-issue."

by Thingray on Aug 31, 2010 5:03 PM PDT reply actions

I remember 2004 being the first year I ever went to Spring Training with my family

We were there for the last week or so, and Jose and Mickey Lopez were both hitting the shit out of the ball. My mother loved both of them and wanted them both on the major league team, especially Mickey if memory serves correctly.

Anyway, I just remember Mickey and circa 2004 Jose Lopez as being really, really fun players to watch play baseball. Times have changed.

Determined, Jonesing Commentor

by Corco on Aug 31, 2010 5:16 PM PDT reply actions