Albert Anthony "Albie" Lopez (born August 18, 1971) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He graduated from

Mesa Community College Mesa Community College (MCC) is a Public college, public community college in Mesa, Arizona. It is the largest of the 10 community colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, the largest community college district in the Unite ...

. He was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in the 20th round of the

1991 Major League Baseball draft The 1991 Major League Baseball draft began 3 June 1991 to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 1990 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be distributed for players who did ...

. Lopez spent five years with the Indians, compiling a record of 12–14 with a 5.99 ERA between 1993 and 1997. Lopez was selected by the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

in the second round (48th pick overall) of the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

in 1997. In 1998, Lopez had a career best 2.60 ERA in 54 games for the expansion team Devil Rays. In 1999, his ERA rose to 4.64 while appearing in 51 games. In 2000, Lopez was a swingman, appearing in 45 games while also starting 24 games for the Devil Rays. He won a career-high 11 games while throwing 4 complete games and 2 saves. The Devil Rays then traded Lopez to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

in 2001 after going 5–12 in 20 starts for the Devil Rays. With the Diamondbacks, Lopez recorded 4 wins in 13 starts. Between both clubs, Lopez finished the 2001 season with a major league leading 19 losses, although not officially leading any league due to him having been traded and splitting time between both leagues. He was part of the

2001 World Series The 2001 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 Major League Baseball season, 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (ba ...

winning team over the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. Lopez was criticized for his poor performance on the team, which led him to sign with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

at the end of that season. Lopez was 1–4 in 55.2 innings for the Braves. He then signed with the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

for the 2003 season. Despite having a record of 4–2 in 15 games, his ERA sat at 12.71 for the Royals, which prompted them to releasing Lopez. Lopez then signed a minor league contract with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in 2005, but was released on March 23, 2005. He signed with the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

on April 19, 2005, but was released just under a month later on May 15. During an 11-year baseball career, Lopez compiled 47 wins, 558

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s, and a 4.94

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He was an Eastern League All-Star with the Canton–Akron Indians, which was the Indians' Double A affiliate in 1993. Lopez pitched during the 2011 season for the Edmonton Capitals of the North American League.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Albie 1971 births Living people Baseball players from Mesa, Arizona Major League Baseball pitchers Cleveland Indians players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Arizona Diamondbacks players Atlanta Braves players Kansas City Royals players Mesa Thunderbirds baseball players Kinston Indians players Charlotte Knights players Canton-Akron Indians players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Akron Aeros players Durham Bulls players Omaha Royals players Tacoma Rainiers players Tucson Toros players Edmonton Capitals players Burlington Indians players (1986–2006) Columbus Red Stixx players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Greenville Braves players Princeton Devil Rays players St. Petersburg Devil Rays players