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Vidal López Ascanio (April 19, 1918 – February 20, 1971) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and manager. He batted and threw right handed.〔 (Spanish)〕 López starred as a starting pitcher and slugging outfielder in his homeland between the 1930s and 1950s. A long time member of the Navegantes del Magallanes in Venezuelan tournaments, his effort earned him a place in franchise lore. In addition, López played in the professional leagues of Cuba, México and Puerto Rico, overcoming color line prejudice throughout a career that lasted 21 years. He was well known for his solid batting, his long home runs and dominant pitching, while his popular nickname, ''El Muchachote de Barlovento'' (The Big Boy of Barlovento), was a testimony to his naive face and burly frame. López is still considered one of the most versatile Venezuelan ballplayers ever produced.〔〔Bjarkman, Peter (2005). ''Diamonds around the Globe: The Encyclopedia of International Baseball''. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 031-3322-68-6〕 ==Early life== López was born in Río Chico, a small farming community located in the Barlovento coastal area of Miranda state in Venezuela. He was a six-year-old boy when his father died in 1924. Three years later, his mother decided to move to Caracas in search of better economic livelihood. As a result, he had to work from an early age to help cover household expenses, working as an errand or courier, as well as serving as an altar boy to earn money for shoes and clothes. He had no formal education but taught himself to write through reading. When he was nine, he especially liked watching his friends and relatives play baseball on a sandlot team that played Saturday afternoons. A friend taught him to throw a baseball, and they played catch almost every day, which turned out to be the key to his future.〔 After a long while, López finally attended elementary school, but had to quit in order to take a formal job to help his impoverished mother and blind sister. A school official interceded, and with the help of a local merchant, they brokered a deal in which the young Vidal would go to school, but at same time have a job that would keep the family afloat. Only then was he given the chance to blossom into a gifted athlete, one who loved baseball more than anything imaginable.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Vidal López」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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