Hector Lopez - Panamanian History

Panamanian History

He paved the way as a role model for the first three Panamanian Major League All-Stars, Ben Oglivie and Manny Sanguillén also from Colón, and Rod Carew a Colonense born in neighboring Gatun. López recorded many firsts among Panamanian baseball players; he was the first regular major leaguer, since 1955 was his rookie season, whereas Robinson did not qualify as a rookie until 1958 (the season in which he recorded his 50th career inning pitched) and Webbo Clarke, who also debuted in 1955, never qualified as a rookie. López' 1955 rookie season, when he batted .290, was also the first by a Panamanian to qualify for baseball's statistical leadership by recording the minimum number of plate appearances or innings pitched. Thus, although he was not the first to appear in the major leagues, he was in a sense the first Panamanian everyday player.

None of the other major leaguers born in Panama who played in the 1950s (Robinson, Clarke, Pat Scantlebury, Tom Hughes) played in the major league postseason, which then only included the World Series, before López did so with the 1960 Yankees. No other Panamanian was part of a World Series champion before López with the 1961 Yankees. He was the first Panamanian to record many statistical accomplishments, such as a stolen base, home run, double, triple, walk or strikeout. His 1956 season was the first by a Panamanian with more than 150 hits, more than 25 doubles, 90 runs scored, or more than 60 walks. His 1959 season was the first with more than 20 home runs or 90 runs batted in. López twice had .350 on base percentages, but in each season he recorded over 400 plate appearances without recording the qualifying number for unofficial league leadership. Thus, his career high on base percentage in a season in which he qualified for statistical leadership was .347 in 1956. He was the first to finish among the top 10 in his league in each of the aforementioned statistical categories, and the first to lead his league in any official statistical batting category (sacrifice flies in 1958). López was the first Panamanian to accumulate a sufficient number of career appearances to qualify for career statistical leadership (which depending upon the source is based on 3000, 4000 or 5000 at bats), although his career .269 batting average, .330 on base percentage and .415 slugging percentage are not historically significant.

He also represented Panama in the 1960 Caribbean Series and tied with Félix Torres and Herman Davis for the tournament home run leadership. He continues to be considered a legendary world champion who represented the country. In 2006, he was cited by professional basketball coach, Joseph Clarke, as ranking alongside such noted Panamanian sports personalities as Ismael Laguna, Roberto Durán, and Mariano Rivera as Panamanian World Champions. López has two sons. Ever since López' performances with the Yankees, the team has had a huge following in Panama.