Aurelio Lopez Biography
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- Born Sept. 21, 1948
Aurelio Alejandro LΓ³pez Rios (September 21, 1948 β September 22, 1992) was a Mexican professional baseball player. After pitching for several years in the Mexican League, he spent eleven seasons (1974, 1978β87) with four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB). He acquired the nickname "SeΓ±or Smoke" in Detroit, while he was known as "El Buitre de Tecamachalco" (The Vulture of Tecamachalco) in Mexico. LΓ³pez was discovered in his hometown by Mexican League scouts and converted from a starting pitcher to a relief pitcher.\n', '
LΓ³pez led the Mexico City Reds to the 1974 Mexican League World Series, then made a brief MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals before returning to the Mexican League. LΓ³pez was named the 1977 Mexican League Most Valuable Player (MVP). He returned to the major leagues with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1978 and pitched for the Detroit Tigers between 1979 and 1985. LΓ³pez finished seventh in the Cy Young Award voting in 1979. He earned a 10β1 record and 14 saves for Detroit\'s 1984 World Series championship team.\n', '
LΓ³pez returned to the postseason with Houston in 1986, but he was the losing pitcher in Game Five of that year\'s National League Championship Series. By the end of his MLB career, LΓ³pez earned a 62β36 winβloss record, 93 saves and a 3.56 earned run average (ERA). After his retirement from baseball, LΓ³pez served as municipal president of his hometown of Tecamachalco, Puebla, Mexico from 1989 until his death. He was killed in an automobile accident in 1992. LΓ³pez was inducted into the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame the following year.\n', '
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