No one had reason to expect Atlanta Braves catcher Javy Lopez to produce the type of season he has delivered.
Lopez, after all, struggled with injuries and hit just .233 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs in 2002. But the 6-foot-3-inch, 200-pound, 32-year-old slugged a career-high 43 home runs this year, 42 as a catcher to break Todd Hundley’s major-league record of 41 set in 1996 for the New York Mets.
Lopez will be a free agent at the end of this postseason and re-signing him will be a challenge for the Braves, who have had payroll issues in recent years. Lopez hit No. 43 off Amaury Telemaco in the second inning of Saturday’s game against the Phillies at Veterans Stadium, then left the game to rest for the postseason, beginning Tuesday night against the Cubs.
“It has just been a great season for me,” Lopez said. “I just want this to continue wherever I am next year.”
Braves manager Bobby Cox praised Lopez for breaking Hundley’s record before jokingly saying, “I missed my calling. I’d have had that record by now if I’d been a catcher.”
Lopez homered once every 10.4 at-bats during the season, a ratio bettered only by Barry Bonds.
“I feel like I’m a totally different player,” he said. “I’m a different person. . . . I just have to keep playing the same and not change until I can’t play anymore.”
