The way Javy Lopez remembers that first spring camp, there were some 300 prospects in the Braves farm system in 1988 when he showed up just four months removed from his 17th birthday. Of those 300, 40 of them were catchers.
If that math was a little daunting, the kid found himself replaying the advice of Jacinto Lopez, his father back in Puerto Rico.
“I don’t worry about anybody but me,” Lopez said. “You put the focus on you.”
Things worked out. On Friday, Lopez became the newest player inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame, the hardest hitting catcher the franchise has seen.
“Very overwhelming,” he said. “You don’t expect anything like this.”
Lopez was recognized before Friday night’s game with Colorado, along with the late Boston Braves shortstop Rabbit Maranville and retired long-time trainer Dave Pursley as the hall’s newest inductees.
From those 40 catching prospects, Lopez reached the majors in less than four years, making the jump to Atlanta from Single-A Durham, where a skinny 20-year-old shortstop looked at the strapping catcher with jealousy and a little awe.
“So this is what a major leaguer looks like,” recalled Chipper Jones, who estimated he weighed perhaps 180 that the time. “I was thinking I got a ways left to go.”
In his 10 full seasons in Atlanta, Lopez made three All-Star teams, won a Silver Slugger award, an NLDS MVP award (1996) and in 2003 set the major league record for home runs by a catcher (43). He ranks eighth in franchise history for homers (214) and is fifth in Atlanta history for hits (1,148) and RBIs (694). He played three final seasons in Baltimore and Boston before retiring in 2006 at age 35.
“My dream was to play professional baseball,” he said. “My dream came true. Ending up in the Hall of Fame with the Atlanta Braves, that’s completely unexpected. It’s a great honor.”
A full accompaniment for current and former Braves attended the noon induction ceremony. Former team owner Ted Turner was there as was former chief scout Paul Snyder, who first watched Lopez play in Puerto Rico from beneath the stands so as not to draw attention from local scouts.
Pursley came with the team when it moved from Milwaukee and rubbed down the arms of Warren Spahn, Phil Niekro and later Tom Glavine, John Smoltz and Greg Maddux. He is already a member of two training halls of fame and in 2004 was selected as National Athletic Trainers Association trainer of the year.
“Dave was the calming voice,” former Braves outfielder David Justice said. “He made you feel everything was going to be alright.”
Maranville, all 5 feet 5 and 120 pounds of him, defined defense in the Dead Ball Era, setting major league records for career assists (8,967) and put-outs by a shortstop (5,139) that still stand today. He finished in the top 10 in MVP voting five times and played his last full season (143 games) when he was 41.
Maranville was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1954, the same year he died.
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