Gerry Gittelson: August 2006 Archives

If you're wondering who the next baseball superstar from the area
will be, look no further than Christian Lopes, a 13-year-old from
Santa Clarita who's ranked as the nation's No. 1 player in his age
group.
Lopes hits 400-foot home runs, and his fastball has been clocked at
84 mph from a regulation mound. Travel Ball Select's Player of the
Year after leading his club team to two national championships this
summer, Lopes probably could dominate in high school baseball, but
he's only going into eighth grade.
“Baseball is my favorite sport, and it's my dream to be up their in
big leagues one day,� Lopes said.
It's a perfectly reasonable plan if you've seen Lopes play. He's
5-foot-10, 165 pounds and a gifted shortstop, pitcher, catcher,
hitter, etc. Even as a 10-year-old, when he carried William S. Hart
to the PONY League World Series in Texas, it was obvious Lopes was in
a class by himself.
“Christian is a very, very special kid,� said his club manager, Lupe
Cruz. “He's got a lot of talent, and he really works hard. I mean,
he's the top 13-year-old kid in the country, so what more can I say?�
Lopes has been featured in Baseball America on a regular basis, and
that's about as legitimate as you can get in this world.
You're half-surprised to learn that no, he isn't related to Davey
Lopes, a former Los Angeles Dodgers star.
Like all great athletes, Lopes does the extras. He takes batting
practice and meets with a private coach on a daily basis and that
doesn't even include the 100 balls he hits off a tee every morning
just to wake up.
In 66 games this summer against elite competition from California to
Arizona to Texas to Florida, Lopes hit 16 home runs with 66 RBIs as a
leadoff hitter. Named MVP of three large-scale tournaments over the
past two months, Lopes doesn't let all of this go to his head. For a
13-year-old, that might be the most amazing thing of all.
“The best quality about Christian is he's got a great attitude,� Cruz
said. “He's just got everything going for him.�