News
06/14/07 12:59 AM ET
Lopez plays in light of family tragedy
Second baseman's brother killed in accident hours before game
By Jim Street / MLB.com
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CHICAGO -- Several hours before the Mariners played the Cubs in the second game of their Interleague series, Jose Lopez was informed that his older brother, Gabriel, had been killed in a motorcycle accident in Venezuela.
"I talked to my daddy, and he said if I couldn't get home in time for the funeral, I should stay here and play baseball," Lopez said after the Mariners dropped a 3-2 decision at Wrigley Field. "We checked on flights, and I couldn't have made it home in time."
The funeral is Thursday.
Lopez said he wasn't sure when he could be able to return to his homeland. It could be at the end of the season, or perhaps during the All-Star break -- if he isn't selected, as he was last season, as a reserve on the American League team.
In the meantime, Lopez says he must concentrate on playing baseball and "helping my team."
Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
