Royce Lewis had no idea what Pablo López had in store when the starter told him before Thursday night’s game that somebody had to hit a home run.
But, Lewis said, “I figured it would be something cool.”
When Carlos Correa finally did go deep in the seventh inning, Lewis had a chance to see what the starter had been planning for the past few months. After Correa returned to the dugout, he was greeted López at the top step, holding a custom-made Prince-themed vest for him to slip on. It was accompanied by an inflatable guitar and a purple fedora.
It was the latest in the long line of creative and fun things that López has introduced to the clubhouse. For the veteran right-hander, introducing new ideas to help promote team bonding has become important to him as a team leader.
The 2023 season’s home run vest, now retired and behind glass in the Twins’ clubhouse, was bought by starter Pablo Lopez at a local sports store. (John Shipley / Pioneer Press)
“I’m all for doing activities for the team,” López said. “I’m all for finding things sometimes not related to baseball that can bring us closer not only as players but also as people, as friends, as brothers. I always like finding little things, little opportunities to make something cool happen.”
López was the one behind the celebration fishing vest that the Twins wore last year, heading out to a sporting goods store to purchase the vest during his free time and also providing a toy rod. Twins home run hitters wore that from May on before retiring it, sending López back to the drawing board.
He contacted a website this spring to have the Prince vest custom made, then waited. It arrived when the Twins were in the middle of the rally sausage craze, so he held off on bringing it out until Thursday, which was appropriately Prince Night at the ballpark.
Last year, López played a big role in helping plan the team’s rookie dress up, gathering knowledge about his teammates throughout the season and then thinking up costumes that would be specific to them. Earlier this season, when the team had a free night in Detroit, he hosted Bingo Night at the team hotel, planning and catering the event, which was attended by nearly the entire traveling party.
And at the beginning of the homestand, López introduced his new Wheel of Fortune. It sits in between the empty locker next to his, under a sheet when not in use. After Twins wins, it comes out. A player and pitcher of the game are identified and then play rock paper scissors for their chance at spinning the wheel. The winner then gets a prize. Chris Paddack, the first winner, took home a pair of eye massagers, which he said were “legit.”
“I think it just brings us together a little bit, closer as a group,” Paddack said.
That’s exactly what López intended when he introduced the idea.
As a young player in Miami, he was around veterans like Martín Prado, Curtis Granderson and Neil Walker, who he said helped teach him about developing winning cultures within the clubhouse. He took notes.
“Those guys were all about doing things that would involve the entire team, the entire staff, bringing everyone together,” López said. “I would sit down, participate and then just (think), ‘It’d be cool to do those things one day. It’d be cool to be that guy.’ ”
The Twins (40-32) have won five straight, and 7 of 9 overall, heading into a three-game series against Tampa Bay (34-38) starting Tuesday night at Target Field.
It’s no surprise to manager Rocco Baldelli that López has become that guy within the Twins’ clubhouse. He’s both thoughtful and organized, Baldelli said, and in a lot of ways “he’s like the team director.”
“He’s a guy that gets ahead of it all and then executes, just like he does on the mound,” Baldelli said. “That’s kind of the way he approaches stuff off the field, too. … There’s nothing shocking about Pablo López taking the time to set something up that he thinks is going to be fun and help the group and be a blast. He’s a good party planner.”
And his efforts certainly don’t go unnoticed.
Within the clubhouse, his teammates appreciate him for not just for what he does on the mound, but for what he does off it.
“He’s a special human being,” Correa said. “The fact that he goes out of his way to bring the team together means so much. You need guys that not only pitch well, but also bring the team together. He’s definitely one of those.”
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