López signed as an amateur free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies at just sixteen years old. He made his major league debut in 1963, but after just four appearances, was back in the minors by the end of April. He spent all of the 1964 season with Philadelphia\'s Triple-A affiliate, the Chattanooga Lookouts. After the Phillies acquired first baseman Vic Power from the Los Angeles Angels (September 9, 1964), López was selected as the “player to be named later,” the following month.\n', '

In 1965, López went 14–13 with a 2.93 earned run average and 122 strikeouts for the Angels to finish second to Curt Blefary in American League rookie of the year balloting.\n', '

His numbers fell off considerably in 1966, largely because he led AL starters in hit batsmen with nine, and was second in the league with twelve wild pitches (the Chicago White Sox\'s Joe Horlen had 14). Shoulder injuries limited López to just nine innings for the Angels in 1967. On June 15, he and minor leaguer Tom Arruda were sent to the Baltimore Orioles for Woodie Held.\n', '

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