As a young boy, John R. Lopez, III spent his days playing catchwith his uncles and his father. He watched their baseball games andwas always captivated by the sport. Even as a young child, Lopezknew that baseball was going to be a permanent fixture in hislife.
Lopez, a former practice pitcher for the Texas Rangers, appearedat the SMU Barnes & Noble bookstore on Saturday and Sunday tosign his new book, Perfect Pitch, which chronicles the past 30years of his life, including the chance meeting with a baseballcoach that would jumpstart his major league career.
Lopez had his first of many “magical” experienceswith the game when he was 5 years old; he saw the Corpus ChristiBuccaneers play baseball. He played baseball during high school,and attended the University of Texas at Arlington. With no baseballteam in place, he played football instead. As irony would have it,the lifelong baseball fanatic signed a contract with the DallasCowboys as a punter in the late 1960s.
His dreams of walking through a dark tunnel and stepping ontothe baseball diamond in a pro team’s uniform still stayedwith him, though.
On board a commercial flight in 1974, fate intervened and Lopezspent his trip seated next to and getting acquainted with JackieMoore, the Texas Rangers’ hitting coach. Moore decided totake a chance on Lopez after talking to team manager Billy Martin,and offered him a chance to try out for the position of practicepitcher for the Texas Rangers.
Lopez had less than two weeks to prepare for the tryout. Dressedin a plain T-shirt and gray shorts, Lopez started out to the fieldbut was halted and told that MLB rules said anyone on the fieldneeded to wear a uniform. Wearing a Rangers uniform he felt hehadn’t yet earned, Lopez took the mound and fired off a series ofpitches that won him the job.
It’s been 20 years and Lopez has been a practice pitcherfor the Texas Rangers, Oakland A’s, Cincinnati Reds, HoustonAstros, Philadelphia Phillies and San Diego Padres.
He had the idea to write a book about his life in baseball butnever got around to it. After watching The Rookie with his son, hewas finally motivated to share his story. Together with authorBrendan Guy Alimo, Lopez gathered his notes and worked on the book,which was published in January. Although baseball is the mainfocus, the book also examines Lopez’s personal struggles,family turmoil and his tests of faith.
Mike Adams, Barnes & Noble special events coordinator, waspleased at the opportunity to host the book signing.
“He’s a fascinating man to talk to. He lives, eatsand breathes reality and life,” Adams said. “I’vemade a great personal friend as well as a good booksigning.”
The crowd was slow to arrive on Sunday, but Lopez warmly engagedhis visitors with his stories, signed books and chatted withfans.
Lopez will return to the SMU Barnes & Noble on Saturday Oct.4 for another signing session.
Next summer, he’s off to Cooperstown to sign autographs atthe Baseball Hall of Fame.
