‘It’s hard, but he loves the team’: Lopez family still cheering for the home side

There's a human side to every team, even one trying to avoid infamy.

A good case study is Naperville residents Bob and Angela Lopez, parents of White Sox shortstop Nicky Lopez, a Naperville Central graduate.

Now in his sixth MLB season, Lopez was traded from Atlanta to the White Sox last November, which is obviously great for mom and dad.

“When we found out he was coming to the Sox, it was like I hit the lotto,” Bob said Friday in seats behind home plate at Guaranteed Rate Field. “It was the best thing. I've been to probably 85% of the home games.”

There's really no downside to watching your son play a professional sport in his hometown. But this summer hasn't been particularly pleasant on the South Side, and as one might imagine, people do have jokes.

“The people who make the jokes are the people who really don't really know anything about baseball and how difficult it is,” Angela said. “You want to go back at them and say, 'Have you ever hit a 95-mile-per-hour fastball?' But we don't. So we keep our mouths closed and we don't say a word. We just take the high road.”

Of course, it's one thing to turn off social media or change the station. It's another when someone is yelling in your ear.

“We were here one time and the guy behind us was just ripping on every player,” she added. “I just wanted to turn around and say something and my son was rubbing my knee saying, 'You've got to have thick skin.' I said, 'I do have thick skin, but I would also like to enjoy the team.'”

The White Sox started the weekend series against Detroit with 97 losses. Having attended so many games, the parents have seen the bad luck first hand, such as early-season injuries to Luis Robert Jr., Yoan Moncada and Eloy Jimenez, thought to be three of the team's better hitters. The Sox have also dropped 25 one-run games.

It's easy to sit at home and curse at the television, but every player on the field is working hard and just as frustrated by the lack of positive results. Parents can pick out some of the bright spots.

“It's hard, but he loves the team,” Angela said. “He just loves his teammates. They do a lot together, they always have since spring training, they have all stuck together. He said there's not one guy on the team that's a 'me' guy, which is kind of a cool thing.”

Bob got to see everything up close because the White Sox had a “dad's weekend” in Detroit from June 21-23. He went on two similar outings when Nicky played for the Kansas City Royals.

“I think there were like 12 or 15 dads,” Bob said. “What they do is they go on the chartered flight and then whatever your son does for those particular days, you walk through it with them. Some of the dads were hitting on the field in Detroit. It's unbelievable. It's the best thing a dad can go through.”

Bob Lopez is no frustrated athlete. He's a member of the Chicago 16-inch Softball Hall of Fame. He probably had the softball equivalent of an MLB career playing for powerhouse Lettuce Entertain You and Mike North's Licorice squad.

“I always tell everybody, they kind of knock that 16-inch softball circuit,” Bob said. “I say, 'Stand at third base and let me hit you a nice hard Clincher and tell me if that's not a good sport.' Nobody ever took me up on it.”

Bob definitely seems less frustrated than a typical White Sox fan. He talked about how much the team enjoys playing for new manager Grady Sizemore and mentioned several times he thinks the Sox will start winning soon.

“Nothing's bad about it,” Bob said. “He's playing in the major leagues. Every dad's dream is to have their son play in the majors, right? There's nothing better than that.

“I don't really judge much. I see what goes on during the season and I don't put my two cents in for nothing. I coached him when he was little. Now he's in the highest position there is in baseball, he doesn't want to hear from me.”