Married to the former Gina Brodbeck...They were wed on 6/23/04...He has two sons, Javier Alexander(11/6/95) and Kelvin Gabrielle (10/17/99)...Attended Academia Cristo Rey in Urb La Ramble, Puerto Rico...Participated in baseball, track and volleyball...Named Ponce's Athlete of the Year from 1984-
87...Signed by the Braves as a non-drafted free agent on Nov. 6, 1987...Signed by Jorge Posada and Pedro Gonzalez.
2006
Split the season with Baltimore and Boston, combining to hit .251 with eight home runs and 35 RBI in 94 games...was his fewest games since 1999 (65), and the lowest home run and RBI totals of any full season in his big league career...caught just three of 35 (8.6%) attempted base stealers for the year...hit .327 (37-for-113) in day games and was 4-for-8 with the bases loaded...spent the first four months with the O's, then was traded to the Red Sox on Aug. 4 for a player to be named later (Adam Stern) or cash considerations as Boston was shoring up its catching situation...played in 18 games for Boston, but was released Sept. 8 after the return of starting catcher Jason Varitek...had 53 games at DH and 21 at catcher...had a .221 average through late April when placed on DL with a strained muscle on the right side of his back...marked second straight year with a DL stay...after two-game rehab with Double-A Bowie, was activated on May 13 and went 13-for-37 (.351) over first nine games after return...was regular catcher for another Lopez, Rodrigo, for much of his time with the O's...Rodrigo Lopez would go 7-4, 4.79 with Javy behind the plate...hit 2 homers with season-high four RBI on June 4 vs. New York-AL, first two-homer game since July 28, 2004...hit eighth inning single June 24 vs. Washington for career hit no. 1500...hit walk-off RBI single July 30 vs. Chicago-AL off Bobby Jenks, his final hit in an O's uniform before the Aug. 4 trade...went 0-for-10 in first three games with Sox, then batted .357 (10-for-28) in eight games Aug. 8-19...was 2-for-25 (.080) in final seven games with Sox before his Sept. 8 release...played for Puerto Rico in inaugural World Baseball Classic, batting .313 (5-for-16) with two doubles, one homer, and two RBI in six games.
2005
Played 103 games -- his fewest since 1999 -- because of a broken right-hand that cost him two months. Lopez came back and hit .337 in August before more hand pain limited his power. He did, however, hit home runs in three consecutive games against the Yankees in September. Twelve of Lopez's 15 home runs were hit at Camden Yards this season.
2004
Appeared in 150 games in his first season with the Orioles...Finished 7th in the American League with a .317 batting average and 10th with a career-high 183 hits.
Batted .335 as a catcher, the highest single-season average at that position in Orioles history...Had 74
RBI as catcher, the 2nd highest total in club history behind Chris Hoiles' 82 RBI in 1993.
Batted .212 with 4 home runs and 10 RBI in 21 games as a designated hitter...Was the 4th lowest average
among players with at least 75 at-bats as DH.
Ranks 10th all-time and 3rd among active players with 228 career home runs at catcher...Among active
catchers, is 4th with a .295 career batting average and 742 RBI.
Average was above .300 for all but one day of the season (.299 on June 15)...Hit over .300 in 4 months
and .330 or better in 3 months.
Hit safely in 109 of 150 games on the season...Hit safely in his first 13 games of the year, batting .462
24-52), and a career-high 16 straight games dating back to the previous season with Atlanta.
Homered off Boston's Pedro Martinez on the first pitch thrown to him on Opening Day...Is one of 19
players to homer in their first game for Orioles and one of 5 to do it in his first at-bat; David Newhan also
homered in his first at bat with the Birds and Chad Mottola also homered in his first game with the Orioles
in 2004.
Matched his career high with 4 hits in a game twice, accomplishing the feat on April 10 at Tampa Bay
and June 30 at Kansas City...Had a season-high 4 RBI on September 1 at Tampa Bay. Had his 21st career 2-home run game on July 28 vs. Boston, hitting both homers off Curt
Schilling...Batted .382 with 6 home runs and 17 RBI in 19 games against the Red Sox.
Played in 83 of 85 games in the first half, missing only back-to-back games, April 30-May 1, with a
strained right oblique muscle...Did not play in 10 games in the second half, missing 3 with back spasms
and one with a stiff neck.
Was tied for 2nd among all American League catchers with 132 games caught...Threw out 20 of 88
22.7%) attempted base stealers...Ranked 3rd in the league with 10 passed balls.
Had an 11-game hitting streak, September 12-24, batting .422 (19-45) with 10 RBI...Had 4 straight
games with 2 hits, August 20-23.
Snapped a stretch of 22 consecutive games without a home run on September 21 at Boston, hitting a
go-ahead 2-run homer in the 9th inning.
2003
Contributed one of the greatest seasons for a catcher in baseball history...His 43 HR and 109 RBI were career highs...Just the third catcher in Major League history to finish with 40 HR, 100 RBI and a BA over .300 (Roy Campanella .312-41-112 in 1953, Mike Piazza .363-40-124 in 1997)...Was T4th in the NL w/ 43 HR; his HRs have come in 457 AB, an AB per HR ratio of 10.6, which would rank 2nd in the majors if he had enough plate appearances to qualify (7 shy)...Has a .687 SLG%, which would be tied for 2nd in the majors if he had enough plate appearances...Ranked 8th in NL w/ 314 TB, 8th w/ 109 RBI, and T8th w/ 75 extra-base hits...His 42nd home run as a catcher Sept. 27 at Phi broke the major league record for HRs by a catcher in a season, set by the Mets' Todd Hundley who had 41 in 1996...1 of Javy's 43 homers this year came as a PH...Came within 7 plate appearances of qualifying for a 2nd place finish in the Majors in SLG% at .687 behind Barry Bonds; Lopez's .328 BA would have ranked 6th in the N.L....Aug. 31 HR at Pit gave him a career-high 35, passing the 34 he hit in 1998...His 2 RBI Sept. 27 at Phi. gave him a career high 108 RBI....Was 130 x 369 (.352) with 14 2B, 3 3B, 39 HR & 100 RBI over his last 105 Gs, dating back to May 10 vs. SF...Reached base in 33 straight starts July 13-Sept. 1; reached in 67 of final 73 starts beginning June 17....July 28 homer at Mtl was the 200th of his career, lifting him into 8th place on the Braves' all-time list, ahead of Wally Berger...Named the NL Player of the Week for July 21-27 (6 G, 10 x 22, .455, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 1.136 SLG%)...Home: .376 (77 x 205), 26 HR, 59 RBI; had a HR ratio of 7.9 at home; road: .290 (73 x 252), 17 HR, 49 RBI (14.8 HR ratio)...Had 4 hitting streaks of 9 games or more this season: 11 G June 18-July 2 (.366-4-10); 9 G May 15-25 (.438-5-6); 9 G July 13-26 (.514-5-18) and 9 G Aug. 19-Sept. 1 (.382-2-7)...Went 0 x 2 in All-Star Game; chosen by the fans as the NL's starting All-Star catcher for 1st time...His 6 RBI June 21 vs. Balt tied his career high, set April 17 vs. the Expos at San Juan...All 6 hits June 5 vs. Texas through 1st inning of June 11 game at Oakland were home runs...Homered in 4 straight games, 1 shy of Atlanta record set by Ozzie Virgil in 1987, May 28-June 1...Had 10 homers in 10 games May 22-June 8...His 8 2-HR games in 2003 matched the Atlanta record set by Andres Galarraga in 1998...Javy's 8 2-HR games: April 17 vs. Expos at San Juan, May 22 at Cin; June 7 vs. PIT, June 8 vs. PIT, June 21 vs. Balt, June 24 vs. Phi, July 21 vs. Chi and Aug. 14 vs. SD; has 20 career 2-HR Gs...Had 11 total bases May 22 at Cinci (career high)...His grand slam April 17 at Mtl (SJ) was the 7th of his career, placing him alone in 4th on the Braves' franchise list (Aaron-16, Adcock-9, Mathews-8, Lopez-7)...Single April 3 vs. Expos was 1,000th career hit...Missed 5 straight games with sore right hamstring May 29 through June 4.
2002
Batted .306 (11 x 36, 4 HR and 15 RBI) in last 13 games...Homered in 2nd game of doubleheader Sept. 27 at NYM for No. 171 of career, enabling him to pass Del Crandall for the most by a catcher in Braves franchise history...Is 2 hits away from 1,000 in career...Pinch-hit grand slam Sept. 15 at Fla was 6th by a Brave and the 1st since Keith Lockhart had 1 June 29, 1997, vs. the Phillies...Also had a pinch-hit, 2-run homer Sept. 13 at Fla...On DL Aug. 1-16 with inflammation of right shoulder and missed 8 straight games Aug. 31-Sept. 8 with same ailment; strained AC joint in right shoulder July 21 at Phi.
2001
Struggled for the first half of the season before coming through with some clutch hits down the stretch, hitting .377 (20 x 53, 3 HR, 14 RBI) in September...Left game on Sept. 30 with high left ankle sprain after colliding with the Mets' Robin Ventura at home plate and missed the final six games of the regular season...On combined September road trips from Sept. 3-27, went 15 x 38, .395, 3 HR, 10 RBI in 15 games...Hit in 20 of last 26 games in which he had an AB (29 x 76, .382, 4 HR, 19 RBI)...Stole first base in three years to the day Sept. 20 at Phi.
2001 POSTSEASON HIGHLIGHTS:--Division Series: Missed the Division Series with a high ankle sprain...LCS: Returned for the LCS and hit just .143 (2x14) while appearing in all five games...Hit game-winning two-run home run off Miguel Batista in the 7th inning of game two to put Atlanta up 3-1 on the way to an 8-1 win.
2000
Recovered from a partially torn right ACL in 1999 to post a solid season...Best month was July: .400 (30x75), 9 HR, 21 RBI, .420 OBP and a .800 SLG%...Hit .299 with RISP (41x137), with 6 HR...Posted a bases loaded average of .389 (7x18), 1 HR, 17 RBI... Batting 5th: .329 (23x70), 7 HR, 20 RBI...Batting 6th: .270 (81x300), 11 HR, 47 RBI...Batting 7th: .296 (29x98), 6 HR, 18 RBI...Had a 9-game hitting streak (16 x 33, .485, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 9 R) July 7-21...Had 7 homers in 13 starts July 8-29...His 9 homers in July match his one-month career-high (August of 1998)... Hit 2 homers July 2 at NYM, his only 2-HR game of the season and 11th of his career...Grand Slam off Marlins' Brad Penny May 9 at Florida was 3rd of career...Finished T2nd in the NL with 20 GIDP...Had 14 solo home runs...As a pinch hitter went 1x6 (.167) with one RBI... had 4 pickoffs...Threw out 19 of 88 potential base stealers (.216)
2000 POST-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:--Division Series: Went 1 X 11 in 3 games.
1999
Partial tear of his right ACL saw his season cut short after just 65 games...Solid start (.297 BA through May 20) was boosted by an 8-game hitting streak May 21-28 (14 x 27, .519)...Recorded a 2-homer game April 21 at LA ...Notched 2 4-hit games, matching career best (May 18 vs. Pit, June 17 at Hou)...Batted .378 (28 x 74) in May...Compiled a 7-game streak June 2-9 (8 x 28, .286)...Posted 5 homers in 6 games with 9 RBI June 14-20, only to suffer right knee sprain attempting to steal second base during a 2-homer game (4 RBI) at Arizona June 20...Had hit safely in 31 of 39 games April 30-June 20 (49 x 141, .348)... Was on 15-day D.L June 21-July 15...Played 9 more games after return to action, then reinjured same knee beating out an infield hit July 24 at Philadelphia...Placed on 15-day D.L. again on July 26, retro to July 25, and was transferred to the 60-day D.L. Aug. 11...Underwent successful surgery to repair a partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) July 26, performed by Dr. Marvin Royster...Ended campaign with a 5-game hitting streak July 19-24 (8 x 19, .421, 6 RBI)...Batted .341 (47 x 138) on the road vs. .287 (31 x 108) at home...Thrived against lefthanders (.340, 18 x 53)...Hit .333 (12 x 36) with runners in scoring position and 2 out.
1998
Matured both as a hitter, posting career highs in four offensive categories: home runs (34), RBI (106), runs (73) and hits (139), and as a catcher, leading all Major League catchers with a .995 fielding percentage and all NL catchers by throwing out base stealers at a .338 rate (27/80) ...His 34 HR set a franchise record for catchers (Joe Torre hit 36 HR in 1966, but only 31 as a catcher; Earl Williams hit 33 HR in 1971, but only 19 as a catcher)...Lopez's RBI total was a franchise high for a catcher (Torre had 109 RBI in 1964, but played 70 games at first base)...Had a career-high 13-game hitting streak (18 x 49, .367, 7 HR, 14 RBI) 8/21-9/5...Homered in four straight games 8/29-9/1...The last Brave to homer in as many as four consecutive games was Ozzie Virgil, who did it in five straight 5/12-16/87... Homered in 3 straight games 8/5-8 and 8/24-26...Hit his 100th home run of his career, a three-run shot off the Dodgers' Jeff Shaw on 8/24 in Atlanta...Had two 2-HR games (6/13 vs. Mon & 6/26 vs. Tor) bringing his career total to 8...Matched his career high of 4 RBI in a game 4 times...Finished T7th in the NL with 8 sac flies...Produced a home run every 14.4 at-bats (6th in the NL) and a RBI every 4.6 at-bats (T6th in the NL)...Grand slam 5/26 vs. Expos was 2nd of career...His 8 HR and 20 RBI in April set one-month career highs...Homered 6 times in 8 starts 4/19 (game 1)-4/30...Showed hitting balance with similar numbers on the road as well as home: home - .289 (67x232), 18 HR, 57 RBI, .335 OBP, .553 SLG%, road - .280 (72x257), 16 HR, 49 RBI, .324 OBP, .521 SLG%...Went 30x109 vs. lefties (.275) and 109x380 (.287) vs. righties...Helped the team secure three last at-bat wins: an 8th inning RBI single vs. LA on 5/4, an RBI double in the 9th vs. AZ on 4/24 and a sac. fly in the 8th vs. Philadelphia 4/4...Thrived with RISP by leading the team (at least 100 at-bats) with a .336 average (46x137)...With RISP, his 13 home runs tied Galarraga for the team lead and his 58 RBI led the team...Also led the team in hitting with runners on third with a .388 average (19x49) and seven home runs, tieing Chipper for the team lead with 30 RBI...Committed a career-low 5 errors and had 11 passed balls...Grounded into 22 double plays to lead the team and tie for 4th in the NL...More comfortable in the 6th spot in the batting order with a .297 average (101x340) with 23 HR and 73 RBI as opposed to the 5th spot where he hit .258 (34x132) with 11 HR and 31 RBI...Selected to his second consecutive All-Star game, struck out in his only time at-bat....Toured with the MLB All-Stars in Japan, posting a .375 average (6x16) with two RBI in five games.
1998 POST-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:--Division Series: Sent Game 1 to extra-innings with his solo home run off Kevin Tapani in the bottom of the ninth.Tapani had held the Braves scoreless through 8.1 innings before Lopez connected.Hit .286 (2x7) in the series with a home run, RBI, walk and strikeout.Threw out 3 of 4 would be basestealers, caught Sammy Sosa twice during the series.NLCS: Went 6x20 (.300) with a home run, RBI and a team leading seven strikeouts.His home run helped spark the team to a six-run 7th in the Braves' 8-3 win in Game 4.
1997
Became only the third catcher in franchise history to reach double-digit homers in at least four consecutive seasons after tying his then career high with 23 (Del Crandall posted eight straight 10+ homer campaigns, 1953-'60 and Joe Torre had six consecutive seasons from 1963-68)...Led the Braves with a .534 slugging percentage...Hit safely in 25 of 26 starts (36 x 97, .371) June 4-July 26...Was on DL from July 12 (retro to July 6) until July 22 with a hairline fracture of left thumb sustained in All-Star game...Hit 2 HR in one game for sixth time July 26 at Cincinnati...Selected to first NL All-Star team; became 11th player to homer on first All-Star at-bat...Had a then career-best 10-game hitting streak June 4-16...Grand slam April 14 off Reds' Stan Belinda was the first of his career...His 4 RBI April 5 vs. Cubs and April 14 vs. Reds match his career high...Had 28 doubles to set a career high, previous was 19 in 1996...Had 9 passed balls...Threw out 28 of 98 runners (.286)....Hit .456 (41x90, 9 HR, 25 RBI) on the first pitch, ranking 2nd in the majors behind Anaheim's Tim Salmon (.457); based on a minimum 100 plate appearances...Underwent successful arthroscopic surgery by team orthopedist Dr. Joe Chandler to smooth out the meniscus cartilege in his left knee October 21.
1997 POST-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:--Division Series: Went 2x7 with 2 2B, 1 RBI, and 3 runs in 2 games...NLCS: Had only 1 hit in 17 AB (.059) with 2 RBI and 3 runs in 6 games...His only hit was a double, giving him 3 hits for the post-season, all doubles.
1996
Became only the second catcher in Atlanta history to reach double-digit homers in three consecutive years after hitting a then career-high 23 (Joe Torre reached the plateaus 1966-68)...Two-homer game September 27 at Montreal was his third of the season (Sep. 6 vs. Mets, May 26 at Pittsburgh) and fifth of career...Led club with five HR in September and all regulars with a .348 BA (28x81, 11 RBI)...Hit .309 (96x311) at night vs. .236 during the day (42x178)...Led all Brave regulars with a .338 BA (4 HR, 12 RBI) in July...Matched career-high with four RBI on June 8 at Colorado...Had three four-hit games (a career high): May 10 at Philadelphia, May 14 vs. Pittsburgh, July 24 at St. Louis....Caught 135 games, an Atlanta club record (Bruce Benedict caught 134 games in '83)...Threw out 33-of-130 (25.4 percent) of would-be base stealers...Had 11 passed balls.
1996 POST-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:--Division Series: Delivered go-ahead homer in 10th inning of Bravesb
1995
Offensive numbers increased dramatically in his second full season at catcher... Hit .315 with 11 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs and 51 RBI... Became the first Braves' catcher to hit .300+ since Joe Torre hit .315 in 1966... Lopez's four triples were the most by a Braves' catcher since 1964 when Joe Torre hit five... When Lopez homered and singled in the 4th inning June 6 vs. Chicago, he became the first Brave to get two hits in an inning since Fred McGriff doubled and singled against Montreal September 21, 1993... Had three game-winning last at-bat hits (April 29 at LA, July 22 vs. SD, August 10 vs. Cin.)... Put together impressive numbers after the All-Star break (.361, 57-for-158, 7 HR, 26 RBI)... Six of his 14 home runs came from the 7th inning on... Hit .323 on grass (83-for-257) and .324 vs. right-handed pitching (80-for-247, 12 HR)... Batted .441 (15-for-34) with RISP and less than two out and .359 (28-for-78) overall with RISP... Picked off four base runners... Had eight passed balls... Tossed out 17-of-78 (.218) would-be base stealers.
1995 POST-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:--Division Series: Hit .444 (4-for-9) with 3 RBI in the three games.NLCS: Batted .357 (5-for-14) with 1 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI in three games.Belted a 3-run homer in 10th inning of Game 1 to provide insurance runs in 6-2 Braves' victory. Went 3x4 with 1 2B in Game 4 clincher.World Series: Had only three hits in 17 at-bats, but all went for extra bases (2 2B, 1 HR), with 3 RBI in six games. Became hero of Game 2 when his 2-run homer off Dennis Martinez snapped a 2-2 tie in the 6th inning. After Indians cut margin to one run an inning later, Lopez then picked Manny Ramirez off first base in 8th to erase potential tying run. Doubled in insurance run in 9th inning of Braves' 5-2 win at Cleveland in Game 4, which gave Atlanta a three-games-to-one Series lead.
1994
Hovered around a .300 batting average through May 21 in his debut season as the Braves starting catcher...Compiled an eight-game hitting streak April 10-20 (10x34, .294) ...Hit two homers in one game twice, April 14 vs. SF and May 15 at NY...Became just the third player to homer into the upper deck of Joe Robbie Stadium in a 9-6 win over the Marlins April 26...Capped the Braves' 7-run, 9th-inning rally May 10 vs. the Phillies by singling home a run to tie the score at 8-8...The Braves won, 9-8, in 15 innings...Lopez caught Kent Mercker's no-hitter April 8 at LA in just his 10th M.L. start...Nine of Lopez's 13 home runs came on the road...Threw out 16 of 81 attempted base stealers (.198) and picked off one base runner ...Selected to the Topps Major League Rookie All-Star team.
1993
Named the No. 5 prospect in the International League by Baseball America ...At Richmond, set a club record for batting average by a catcher (.305), seventh in the I.L....Drove in 35 runs in 35 games June 18 to August 3...Selected as the starting catcher for the I.L. All-Star Game and went 2x3, with one double and one RBI...Had 34 multi-hit games and batted .400 (40x100) vs. left-handers...Tossed out 32 percent of potential base stealers ...Recalled from AAA Richmond August 17 to replace the injured Greg Olson on Atlanta's roster...Started four games, going 6x12 in that role...Among his six hits, Lopez stroked a double, triple, and homer...Hit his first M.L. homer off Cubs' Shawn Boskie August 21st.
1992
Hit .375 (6x16) in nine games for Atlanta, after outstanding campaign at AA Greenville...Voted top catching prospect in Southern League by Baseball America after hitting .321 with 16 homers and 60 RBI...Stroked his first Major League hit, a double off Rob Murphy, vs. Houston September 18 ...Placed on post-season roster as result of Greg Olson's season-ending injury...Went 3x4 with a double, three runs scored and an RBI on October 2 (Game 2) vs. the San Diego Padres.
1992 POST-SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:--Went 0x1 in NLCS.
1991
Selected to the Carolina League All-Star team as a catcher...Led the C.L. in total chances (701), putouts (610) and double plays (14) ...Tied for first in homers with 11.
1990
Led all Midwest League receivers in double plays (11)...Hit a grand slam vs. Kenosha on July 14...Concluded 10-game hitting streak with 5-hit game June 5 vs. Clinton.
1989
Spent entire season at Pulaski (Rookie), batting .261 with three homers and 27 RBI ...Belted a grand slam on June 19 vs. Wytheville.
1988
Caught 16 of 46 (35%) would-be base stealers.
1991
Selected to the Carolina League All-Star team as a catcher...Led the C.L. in total chances (701), putouts (610) and double plays (14) ...Tied for first in homers with 11.
1990
Led all Midwest League receivers in double plays (11)...Hit a grand slam vs. Kenosha on July 14...Concluded 10-game hitting streak with 5-hit game June 5 vs. Clinton.
1989
Spent entire season at Pulaski (Rookie), batting .261 with three homers and 27 RBI ...Belted a grand slam on June 19 vs. Wytheville.
1988
Caught 16 of 46 (35%) would-be base stealers.