Welcome to Baseball History Podcast, featuring baseball biographies. I’m your announcer Bob Wright.
This is game 44 of the 2011 baseball season.
In the first inning let’s take a look at This Week in Baseball History for the 1 week of November.
November 4
1965 Chicago manager Al Lopez resigns as the field boss of the White Sox.
Alfonso Ramon Lopez, nicknamed “Al”, was born August 20, 1908 in Tampa, Florida.
A solid major league catcher whose record of games caught stood for more than 40 years. He later found great success as manager. Not much of an offensive threat, his great value was as an extremely durable receiver.
From 1951 to 1959, his teams – always known as overachievers – won two pennants and finished second to the Yankees the other seven years. His 1954 Indians won 111 games, an American League record that lasted 44 years, and in 1959 he led the Go-Go White Sox to their first pennant since 1919.
Lopez’ introduction to professional baseball was nothing short of unorthodox. In 1925, still five years short of the age of majority, he was hired by the Washington Senators to catch batting practice in spring training.
Lopez took his experience catching the Washington Senators to a tryout with the Tampa Smokers of the Florida State League.
On August 26, 1927, the Brooklyn Robins purchased his Minor League contract for $10,000. He spent most of the 1928 season playing for Macon. Brooklyn manager Wilbert Robinson was sufficiently impressed with reports on his catching prospect to recall him to Major League team in September. Lopez made his debut at Ebbets Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of a doubleheader on September 27, 1928.
After another year of seasoning in the minors, Lopez returned to Brooklyn in 1930. He established an offensive personal best for himself as a rookie, batting .309 and driving in 57 runs; meanwhile, his fielding average was .983 in 126 games behind the plate.
Compared to other catchers around the league, Lopez was considered small, standing 5’ 11” and weighing a mere 180 pounds. As Arthur Daley chronicled in the New York Times, “what he lacked in bulk, he compensated for in agility, speed, intelligence, and class.”
After five consecutive sixth-place finishes, the Robins leapt to challenge the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Giants for the National League pennant. Although the Robins fell to fourth place by September, they won 86 games and set a franchise attendance record by drawing over a million for the first time. As one of the catalysts in the Robins’ turnaround, Lopez was offered a raise, no questions asked. Lopez enhanced his reputation as a dependable catcher, fielding .977 in 1931 and .976 a year later for the rechristened Brooklyn Dodgers.
As a young player, Lopez carried a reputation of an umpire baiter. On one instance, he found himself ejected from a game at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia. En route to the visitors’ clubhouse in center field, Lopez paused at the pitcher’s mound to drop his glove, mask, and chest protector. Infuriated, the umpire ordered him to leave the field. Lopez ignored him, continuing his mock burlesque act by removing one shinguard, then another, and tossing them gingerly beside him. At that point, he collected his belongings and moved slowly towards center field.
The 1934 season introduced Lopez to new Brooklyn manager Casey Stengel. Despite his later successes with the Yankees, Stengel led the Dodgers to pedestrian records of 71-81 in 1934 and 70-83 in 1935. Rumours began to circulate that several star players would soon be traded. Stengel attempted to placate any apprehension Lopez might have by assuring him that “it’s going to be to a good club.” Instead, on December 12, Lopez was traded to the Boston Braves. Lopez was understandably offended at Stengel’s false reassurance. In 1935, the Braves won 38 and lost 115, establishing themselves as the worst team in baseball. As Lopez recalled, “then [in 1938], he comes over to Boston to manage and trades me to Pittsburgh.”
Lopez played for the Pirates through the 1946 season when he was traded to Cleveland on December 7. He was well-respected enough in the latter stages of his career that even superstars from opposing teams asked him for advice.
Lopez’ arrival in Cleveland coincided with the start of the Indians’ golden age. Bill Veeck was the owner, Lou Boudreau the manager, Bob Feller and Bob Lemon anchored the rotation, and on July 5, 1947, the trailblazing Indians integrated the American League with the emergence of Larry Doby.
Lopez caught for one season for the Indians as a backup and then retired. Nineteen seasons in the major leagues yielded a lifetime average of .261. Catching 1,918 games, a major league record until 1987, he produced a sterling .985 fielding percentage.
“I always wanted to manage when my playing career was finished, but if that was part of Veeck’s plan when he got me, he never told me about it.” Not offered a position with the Indians, Lopez was assigned in 1948 to manage the Indianapolis Indians of the American Association.
After two more years at Indianapolis, Lopez was hired on November 10, 1950 to manage the Cleveland Indians.
One of the keys to his success in Cleveland was his rapport with chief operating officer Hank Greenberg. “We worked well together. Hank picked up some good players, guys who were especially important to us in 1954 when we had a lot of injuries. The club in those days didn’t spend a lot of money…but Hank was able to do some things that didn’t cost a lot because we did so well.”
The Indians were consistent if not spectacular under Lopez, winning 91 games in 1951, 93 in 1952, and 92 in 1953. Yet, it was not enough to unseat the New York Yankees from the apex of the American League.
Fate would be kinder to the Cleveland Indians in 1954. Although the Yankees won 103 games, their highest total under Stengel, they were relegated to listening to the World Series on the radio. The Indians, meanwhile, played evenly against the Yankees and the White Sox while posting a torrid 89-21 record against the other five clubs. Posting an overall record of 111-43, the Tribe vaulted to the American League pennant. As Lopez later reported to veteran sportswriter Russell Schneider, the Indians “had a lot of leaders, which is one of the reasons we did so well. I’ve got to say that (Al) Rosen was the number one guy. I had great respect for the way he played the game and the way he demanded that others play the game.”
The Indians were leaders on the mound. Bob Lemon and Early Wynn earned league titles with 23 wins apiece, while the club converted 19 victories from Mike Garcia, 15 from Art Houtteman, and 13 from Bob Feller. Lopez described his pitching staff as “the greatest ever assembled.” The Indians were leaders at the plate as well. Second baseman Bobby Avila captured a batting crown hitting .341, while Larry Doby led the American League with 32 home runs and 126 runs batted in. The Indians were tops in the American League with 156 home runs.
Although the Indians never lost more than two consecutive games during the regular season, they fell into a slump against the New York Giants during the World Series. In the eighth inning of Game One, Vic Wertz hit a line drive that travelled 460 feet deep into the Polo Grounds before landing in Willie Mays’ glove. After Dusty Rhodes delivered a pinch home run for a 10th inning Giants’ victory, momentum remained on their side. The Giants swept the Indians in four straight. Lopez insisted that the Indians would have fared better had they opened the series at Municipal Stadium, where Wertz’ line drive would have been a home run.
After two more second-place finishes in Cleveland, Lopez resigned as the Indians manager in 1956. Chronic stomach ailments brought forth by years of anxiety suggested it was time for a change in scenery. He took his managerial intelligence to Chicago, where he became the manager of the White Sox. Though he assumed control of a talented roster, the White Sox were notorious for their “June swoon” and as “hitless wonders.”
Playing in spacious Comiskey Park, the White Sox under Lopez’ stewardship focused their game around pitching, speed, and defense. Importing his philosophy from another cavernous ballpark, Cleveland, Lopez stressed the stolen base, the hit and run, and run manufacturing to get ahead of the opposition.
The White Sox opened the 1957 season by winning 11 of their first 13 games. On June 8, the Sox enjoyed a six game lead, their largest advantage since 1919. But when the dust cleared on 1957, Lopez found his White Sox in a familiar position, in second place behind the Yankees.
The city and the uniform had changed for Lopez, but after managing in the American League since 1951, his club still finished second to the New York Yankees. The 1958 season marked the seventh year out of eight that a Lopez club played bridesmaid to the Bronx Bombers. Although the White Sox won 90 games in 1957 and 82 in 1958, it was not enough to stop Casey Stengel’s juggernaut from adding to their surplus of American League titles. Lopez’ critics, particularly those in the New York media, accused him of being anti-Yankee. Defending himself, he argued, “I’m anti any club that wins all the time.
In 1959, Al Lopez accomplished something no White Sox manager had in done four decades. He led his club to an American League pennant. Despite hitting only 97 aggregate home runs, fewest of any team, the “Go-Go Sox” led the American League with 113 stolen bases, 46 triples, and a 3.29 earned run average. Early Wynn won 22 games and the Cy Young Award while Nellie Fox batted .306 as the league’s Most Valuable Player. The Sox won 35 of 50 one-run decisions, winning their first season series over the Yankees since 1925 by posting a 13-9 record against New York.
White Sox fans knew that 1959 would be an unusual season on April 22, when they scored 11 runs in one inning on 10 walks, a hit batsman, three errors, and only one hit. The Sox battled the Indians for control of first place for most of the summer when in July, Chicago raced ahead by winning 11 games of a 12-game homestand.
Although Cleveland recovered to within a game in the standings by late August, the Sox reaffirmed their dominance over the Indians with a four-game sweep at home.
The White Sox opened the 1959 World Series with an 11-0 victory at home. Early Wynn threw seven scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers as Ted Kluszewski drove in five runs on two homers and a single. Although they led 2-1 in the sixth inning of Game Two, the Sox lost the game and ultimately the Series, four games to two.
Although the White Sox remained competitive in the early 1960s, they did not return to the World Series under Lopez’ leadrship. Managing pennant races for 15 consecutive summers took their toll on his well-being. Managing was no longer fun for a man in his fifties who spent many late nights pacing the clubhouse floor due to an insomniac condition. Not even Lopez’ gin rummy marathons with broadcaster Bob Elson were enough to lift his spirits.
As was reported in Time, the insecurity of having never won a World Series “kept him melancholy.” Few were aware of his stomach condition, let alone its severity, which prevented him from digesting fruit or vegetables and forced him to drink milk – a beverage he detested. After leading the Sox to a 95-67 record in 1965, good for another second-place finish, Lopez’ illness forced him to step down as manager.
In July 1968, with the White Sox mired in eighth place, Lopez was healthy enough to return to work. He was hired to his second tour of duty with the Sox. The White Sox won 21 and lost 26 under Lopez, finishing 36 games behind Detroit tied for eighth place.
The White Sox began the 1969 season with promise as Carlos May belted two home runs in a 5-2 victory in the home opener against the expansion Kansas City Royals. However, the early season heroics were a false hope. A respectable record of 8-9 through May 2 was not enough to prevent Lopez’ insomnia from returning. He said later, “That’s when I knew it was time to get out.”
Lopez was equally as adept at coordinating pitchers and throwing out baserunners as he was as a leader and strategist in the dugout. However, he chose to defer his accomplishments to those around him. Much like his mentor Casey Stengel, Lopez knew that he could not have won the American League pennants in 1954 or 1959 without his players. Although disappointed that he never played or managed for a World Champion, he received countless honors from his peers on the diamond, his community, and fans spanning four generations.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame In 1977.
Al Lopez died on October 30, 2005 at age 97.
A large part of this biography comes from the SABR Baseball Biography Project written by Maxwell Kates. It can be found online at http://bioproj.sabr.org
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Well, that’s it for today’s Baseball History Podcast. I’ll see you later at the ballpark.
