- Aurelio López
Infobox MLB retired
name = Aurelio López
width =
position =Pitcher
bats = Right
throws = Right
birthdate =September 21 ,1948
deathdate = death date and age|1992|9|22|1948|9|21
debutdate =September 1
debutyear = 1974
debutteam =Kansas City Royals
finaldate =June 17
finalyear = 1987
finalteam =Houston Astros
stat1label = Win–Loss
stat1value = 62–36
stat2label = ERA
stat2value = 3.56
stat3label =Strikeout s
stat3value = 635
teams =
*Kansas City Royals (by|1974)
*St. Louis Cardinals (by|1978)
*Detroit Tigers (by|1979–by|1985)
*Houston Astros (by|1986–by|1987)
highlights =
* AL All-Star: 1983
* World Series Champion: 1984Aurelio Alejandro (Rios) López (
September 21 ,1948 –September 22 ,1992 ), nicknamed "Señor Smoke", was a Mexicanrelief pitcher inMajor League Baseball with an 11-year career (1974, 1978–1987).Born in
Tecamachalco ,Puebla , Mexico, López played most of his career in Mexico. First with Las Chopas in 1967 then with theMexico City Reds in 1968. After starting the 1969 season with Mexico City, López joined Minatitlan. In 1970, López rejoined Mexico City and played with them until 1977. During his time with the Reds López also played inMajor League Baseball . In 1974 López played in 8 games with theKansas City Royals and played with theWaterloo Diamonds of the class-AMidwest League in 1975. López's contract was purchased by theSt. Louis Cardinals from Mexico City onOctober 26 1977 . López then joined theSpringfield Redbirds of the triple-A American Association for 1978. López also saw playing time in the major leagues in 1978, playing in 25 games with the St. Louis Cardinals that year.After playing in St. Louis, López played for the
Detroit Tigers for seven seasons (1979–1985). López's best season was 1979, when he had a 10–5 win–loss record, 21 saves and 106strikeout s. He had a 2.41 ERA, anAdjusted ERA+ of 181, was third in the AL in saves and seventh in theCy Young Award voting.López finished his career in the major leagues playing two seasons with the
Houston Astros (1986 and 1987).López was killed in an
auto accident a day after his 44th birthday in Matehuala, San Luis Potosí, Mexico. Coincidentally, there have been three players in Major League Baseball history named Aurelio, and all three were killed in car accidents between the ages of 44 and 53 (Aurelio Rodríguez andAurelio Monteagudo ).López was elected to the American League All-Star team in 1983. He was also the winning pitcher in Game 5 of the
1984 World Series when the Detroit Tigers defeated the San Diego Padres, four games to one.Detroit rock band
Electric Six named their second album, "Señor Smoke " in his honor. [ [http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/02/22/102318.php Interview: "How Do You Rock So Hard?" — Electric Six] , Blogcritics.org,February 22 ,2006 , by Tiffany Leigh.] [ [http://www.artrocker.com/articles/interviews/interview2.shtml Electric Six: Interview with Dick Valentine] , Artrocker, by Kaoru Sato.]ee also
*
1984 Detroit Tigers season External links
*baseball-reference|id=l/lopezau01
References
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