Rodrigo López looks back at his career, the Classic, and Fernandomania

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Two weeks ago, the Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Mexicano – the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame -- announced its newest inductees with slugger Erubiel Durazo and pitcher, D-backs broadcaster and Team Mexico general manager Rodrigo López earning spots. But the two have a connection that goes much farther back.

In fact, the first home run that López ever surrendered in the big leagues came against Durazo. After making his big league debut against the Braves, López faced off against Durazo in Arizona on May 6, 2000.

Had things gone slightly differently, perhaps that home run is never hit. In the bottom of the first inning, López got Durazo in a 2-2 count and was one pitch from putting him away. Instead, López picked Luis González off first base to end the inning. That meant Durazo got to lead off the second with a brand new count. This time, Durazo got ahead, 2-0, before launching López’s pitch deep over the center-field wall.

“In my mind, I thought what would happen if I pitched through the first instead of picking off González on first?” López told MLB.com in a recent phone call. “Having two strikes, I probably could have got Durazo out and that would be a different story.”

Durazo wasn’t done with López, though. After the pitcher was sent down to Triple-A later that season, he met Durazo while the slugger was on a rehab assignment.

“I faced him in Tucson, where they had their Triple-A team at the time, and he hit two home runs off me,” López remembered. “Ever since, I faced him a lot of times in winter ball when he was playing for Hermosillo, so I’m sure I got him out a couple times, but in my mind, I always gave up a home run or extra-base hit to ‘Ruby.’”

López doesn’t appear to hold a grudge, though: The two former D-backs posed together in Mexico-inspired jerseys ahead of the team’s Mexican Heritage Night to be celebrated on Thursday.

That López ever fell in love with baseball is thanks to Fernando Valenzuela. Growing up near Mexico City, López and his family weren’t in the baseball-mad northern Mexico hotspots of Baja, Sinaloa, Sonora, and Chihuahua. Like much of the country, López grew up in a soccer family, where his father played semi-professionally.

“[My parents] always supported us in whatever activity we decided to do, but they always encouraged us to play sports, so of course our first sport that we were introduced to was soccer,” López said. “I was probably a below-average player. I didn't get too much traction until I was placed in the goalkeeper position. But that’s when Fernando comes to my story.”

López was 6 years old when Fernandomania first swept the Major Leagues, that perfect age when a child can first become truly entranced with the sport. With his high leg kick, diving changeup and run of success across the Majors, Valenzuela converted López and countless others into baseball fans.

“I started watching Fernando on TV. I remember everybody watched the games when Fernando was pitching every five days,” López said.

With Valenzuela in their mind, he and his older brother, Raúl, went to their father with a request.

“What do you mean you want to play baseball?” a shocked Raúl Sr. replied. “We don’t know anything about baseball!”

With the two brothers playing in the local Tolteca league (“In Mexico City, they named the Little Leagues after the culture of the natives of Mexico,” López said), their father befriended current Pericos de Puebla VP Alfonso López (his son, Alejo, played for the Reds in 2023). That led to Rodrigo’s big break.

One day, Alfonso wanted to catch up with the family and watch Raúl throw. When he learned that Raúl had instead gone to college, he turned his attention to the younger brother. Alfonso went down to the field, grabbed a catcher’s mitt and caught Rodrigo in the bullpen for a few pitches. He liked what he saw.

"Hey, how about Rodrigo?” Alfonso asked Raúl Sr. “The last time I saw him, he was so small, but now I think he’s got something. How about we get a tryout for him in Veracruz?”

The rest is history: López spent a few years in the Mexican minor leagues before the Padres inked him ahead of the 1995 season. Though he won 81 big league games, including a notable 10-strikeout performance against the Yankees -- it was his Caribbean Series-winning performance in 2002 that remains his most memorable.

Having inked a new contract with the Orioles while pitching in winter ball that year, López’s goal was to focus on the upcoming season. Begged by the owner of the Tomateros de Culiacán, López agreed to come pitch -- for one game. After helping defeat Venezuela in the opener of the tournament, López then returned home to rest and prepare for Spring Training.

Instead, Mexico kept winning. The owner made a second plea:

“Hey Rodrigo,” he said. “We need you here because we have a chance to win the championship.”

Knowing what it would mean to his teammates and country, the pitcher agreed and flew back to Caracas, getting a few hours of sleep before the final contest against the Vaqueros de Bayamón from Puerto Rico. Unaffected by the travel or the fatigue, López was on point. He tossed a complete game four-hitter to help Mexico win its fourth-ever Caribbean Series championship.

“That was my biggest accomplishment, because at the time, Mexico was never the favorite to win the championship at the Caribbean World Series,” López said. “When we got back to Mexico, the president hosted the team to recognize our championship. Then we flew to Culiacán and there were people waiting for us outside from the airport all the way to the stadium just to wave at us and spend time with us. I was on top of the world.”

López’s job is now to change those expectations about Mexican baseball. As the GM of the national team, he oversaw the team’s surprising run to the semifinals in 2023, helping inspire baseball fandom across the country, before a loss to Italy in the final game of group play eliminated the team earlier this year.

Despite the defeat, López is excited for the state of baseball in his home nation.

“It was a disappointing outcome because we didn't even make it to the second round,” López said. “The team that we built had the most talented players who were available. There were guys that [wanted to play], but for different circumstances in his contract or his career they couldn't be on the team, like [Isaac] Paredes or Cody Ponce.”

That didn’t stop López and his staff, including Mariana Patraca and Jorge Campillo, from building what is arguably the most talented roster in Mexico’s WBC history. Had that game against Italy -- a constant thorn in Mexico’s side during the tourney’s 20-year history -- gone differently, then it could have advanced and the conversation would be very different.

“Just in the end, we didn’t execute the way we were expecting to execute,” López said. “We faced a team that was pretty inspired after the win against the USA the day before. It was a shorter time than we expected, but the effort and work that we put into the tournament made me feel pretty satisfied with what we’re doing.”

Before the next World Baseball Classic, Mexico will play in the 2027 Premier12. López admits he doesn’t know how he’ll be involved, but admits he’d like to help however he can. He’ll be hoping to show the talent that Mexico’s baseball team can display on the field.

“It’s nobody’s fault, it’s just baseball, but definitely we need to learn from this,” López said. “What else can we do better? How can we prepare for the next tournament based on the rules that the WBC sets? And then, once [you get close to the tournament], that’s when my job starts to see who’s available and try to recruit them and convince them how important it is to play."