which the major league club thought too exorbitant for a young player with only one year of professional baseball experience. Instead, López moved steadily up the minor leagues ranks in subsequent seasons and made his major league debut in with Brooklyn. After splitting time between the major and minor leagues for two seasons, López became the Dodgers' primary catcher in at the age of 21, and he remained a regular starter in the major leagues over the next 17 seasons. His best offensive campaign came in , when he hit .301, stole 10 bases, and finished 10th in National League MVP voting. Overall, he compiled modest career batting numbers, including 613 runs, 51 home runs, and 652 RBIs and a .261 batting average. He was better known for his defense, leadership, and his ability to work with various pitchers, which earned him two trips to the All-Star game and respect around the league. Over a major league playing career which ran from 1928 until , López played for the Brooklyn Robins / Dodgers (1928, 1930-), Boston Bees (-), Pittsburgh Pirates (1940-) and Cleveland Indians (1947). In , López surpassed Gabby Hartnett's major league record for career games as a catcher, and when he retired after the 1947 season, his major league record for games caught stood at 1,918. This record was not broken until by Bob Boone, and the National League record was broken by Gary Carter in . He caught 117 shutouts during his career, ranking him 13th all-time among major league catchers. Baseball manager Minor leagues López decided to seek a job as a baseball coach or manager upon retiring after the 1947 season, which he'd spent as the backup catcher for the Cleveland Indians. Bill Veeck, the new owner of the team, was unhappy with how Indians player-manager Lou Boudreau had handled the club, and he asked López if he would be interested in taking the position. López declined, explaining that he did not want to appear to have undermined Boudreau to steal his job and preferred to gain managerial experience with another club. The decision was a positive one for both parties, as the Indians won the 1948 World Series and Boudreau was named the American League MVP. Meanwhile, López began his managing career in 1948 with the Indianapolis Indians, the Pittsburgh Pirates's Class AAA minor league affiliate. He spent three years in Indianapolis, leading his