Olympian swings into the blue

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HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (ACCNS) --   Many people play sports during childhood as a way to make friends, learn a new skill and have fun.

One Team Holloman member who started playing baseball in Puerto Rico as a child also got a chance to participate in the Olympics.

In 1991, at age 18, Staff Sergeant Orlando Lopez, 4th Space Control Squadron evaluator, was asked to pitch for the islands national baseball team during the 1992 summer Olympics.

When I was 11 or 12, my dad realized that I had the talent to become a good player, Sergeant Lopez said. He started considering that I could become a professional.

Sergeant Lopez said from then on, his life was different.

All the benefits you have when youre a teen went away, he said. Whenever you start thinking of baseball as this is your life, it takes away the fun of things like going to the beach and skateboards and bikes.

After graduating high school, Sergeant Lopez was working part-time jobs and playing amateur baseball. Once he joined the national team, he was training four to five hours a day.

Because he was a pitcher, most of his training consisted of running, situational plays and pitching techniques, he said.

The hardest part is staying healthy and showing that youve earned that spot on the team, the sergeant said. You have to work hard to do that.

Sergeant Lopez had to work especially hard because at 18, he was the youngest and least experienced person on the 24-man team. However, that didnt stop him from pitching against the United States, China and Japan during the games.

I didnt even realize I was in the Olympics until four years after the fact, Sergeant Lopez said. When I was watching the next Olympic game in Atlanta, I thought wait a minute, I was in the 92 Olympics.

After the Olympics, life returned to normal with one exception; instead of playing amateur baseball, Sergeant Lopez signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs National League Baseball Club.

He was drafted by the club in the 26th round before the Olympics, but waited to sign the contract until after the games.

You cant play on the Olympic team as a professional, he said. The Cubs gave me an extension not to show up to spring training or the farm leagues until after the Olympics. After the games, the Cubs renegotiated Sergeant Lopezs contract and gave him a better deal, he said.

After a few years of playing for the Cubs minor league team, he had worked up to becoming a starter for the team. But in 1996, Sergeant Lopez threw out his elbow. The injury ended his baseball career.

His father had been in the Army and Sergeant Lopez decided to follow in his footsteps and join the military.

It was a difficult decision because I love the game and I love to play, he said. The only thing I can say is baseball is about business. Its not so much a love of the game, its what kind of numbers you put on the board and how many fans you bring to the game. I realized that and I kind of got discouraged.

He joined the Air Force in 1997.

Staff Sergeant Lopez is an extraordinary NCO, said Master Sgt. Robert Orris, 4th SPCS Standardization and Evaluation NCOIC. He exemplifies what every NCO should strive to become.

According to Sergeant Orris, Sergeant Lopez epitomizes all three of the Air Forces Core Values.

He worked 21 straight days last year before deploying for 82 days in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Even though he knew he was sacrificing time with his wife, who was expecting at the time, and young daughter, he volunteered to ensure that every last piece of equipment was function checked, packed and ready to go.

Due to his integrity and technical competence, he is often sought out by peers and leadership alike for his opinion. When it comes to the quality and quantity of the products he turns out, excellence is the adjective that comes to mind.

Currently, Sergeant Lopez is completing a degree in criminal justice. He hopes to cross train into the Office of Special Investigations and use the skills hes learned so far in life to enhance his career.

Discipline is the most important thing that you must have in baseball if you want to succeed, Sergeant Lopez said. So coming into the Air Force thats one thing I apply day to day. Discipline and dedication.