ARLINGTON -- Nicky Lopez’s grandfather always wore a Royals jacket.
Lopez was selected by the Royals in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft and spent the first 4 1/2 years of his big league career with the organization. Even over the past few years, as Lopez has hopped from the Braves to the White Sox to the Angels to the Cubs and finally to the Rangers, his grandfather continued wearing that Royals jacket.
But Lopez’s grandfather was never able to see him play for the Rangers. He passed away right before Lopez was designated for assignment by the Cubs and just days before he joined the Rangers.
He was getting ready for the funeral when the Rangers called ready to sign him to a Major League deal.
But of course, Lopez’s first hit as a member of the Rangers came in the sixth inning on Friday night, when he launched a two-out, two-run homer into the Rangers’ bullpen in right-center field, helping to propel Texas to a 9-1 win over his former ballclub.
His grandpa might have had a little bit to do with that, Lopez said.
“You'll never hear me say one bad thing about [the Royals],” Lopez said. “So to be able to do it, I feel like it was meant to be, so it was kind of cool. … My grandpa was my best friend. Me and him had a really close bond. The past week has been pretty tough. It’s been a lot to handle. I feel like I'm here for a reason. I feel like I can help this team win. I'm a believer, and everything happens for a reason.
“When you're running the bases, I just felt like I was floating. When I was playing defense that next half inning, I got a little emotional. I feel like everything was just coming to a boiling point. It was really special.”
Lopez, in theory, is supposed to be here to get on base and put the ball in play.
He’s not a power hitter. He can bunt, he can beat out an infield single, he’s got bat-to-ball skills. But he’s not really here to slug the ball. And he knows he’s not a guy that’s going to hit the ball out of the yard very often.
For maybe the first time all season, the Rangers scored early AND often. Lopez’s sixth-inning homer was one of three in the win as Texas took the first of the three-game set against Kansas City.
“It's been crazy, a whirlwind of the past couple days,” Lopez said. “Obviously you want to come in here and leave an impression and start off hot. You want to get in here, get the feet wet, get acclimated with the teammates, but then you look up and I’m 10 or 11 at-bats in and I feel like I gotta produce a little bit. So that felt good, obviously. I put a good swing on it. The bunting and all that stuff, that'll come.”