The smell and crunch of the infield dirt. Fresh-cut grass. The pop of the bag when running through first base. The crack of the bat when making full contact. There is something between tangible and ethereal for those who love the game of baseball, like Pablo Lopez. A name often heard ahead of this year's MLB trade deadline, the 28-year-old pitcher has a visceral and humbling view of the sport.
The Minnesota Twins starting pitcher sat down to discuss what he gives and gets from the game and how that motivates his charitable works via an interview with Lauren Shehadi of MLB Network.
“I started playing when I was seven years old. My dad really took the time, away from the hospital (where he worked), to teach me the ways, teach me how to learn the game. When we get to play this beautiful game in front of 30-, 40,000 people, someone might be watching you for the first time. Someone might be watching you for the last time. And I always think I owe them my very best effort,” Lopez shared.
Lopez began his playing career in 2018 with the Miami Marlins after entering the league as an international free agent in 2012 with the Seattle Mariners. In January 2023, Lopez, along with Jose Salas and Byron Chourio, was traded to the Twins in exchange for Luis Arraez.
Lopez, who was born to two doctors and accepted into medical school at the age of 16 in Venezuela, instead chose to play baseball. In 2018, he told the Miami Herald about his decision to play the game.
“The body, as you grow older, gets weaker. The mind just gets stronger. Baseball is a one-time opportunity. That was my thought process. I could always go back to school,” he said at the time.
In his second year with the Twins is having a down year statistically, but there's no denying who Lopez is as a person.
Pablo Lopez, his pursuit of service and his love of baseball
Lopez's father, Danny, was a general practitioner and internist. His mother, Agnedis, a pathologist. It wasn't lost on Lopez how much his parents gave to their communities and the impacts of their service onto others.
“Just seeing how my dad was just like, that's his duty, that's what he signed up for. That's what he wanted to do,” Lopez added. “And then so many more little things like that within what they did. You know how doctors are. They're never thinking about themselves. They're always thinking about other people.”
Those lessons pushed Lopez to help with three local organizations: Ruff Start, Project Success and Children's Minnesota. You can find pictures all over social media of Lopez giving back and giving himself to others. However, his charitable motivations come from within, enriched by his family's core values.
Follow Us
Subscribe