When I come here to work, I try to forget everything.” “I try to work hard every morning, take a deep breath, pray for (Mikael), pray for my family,” he said then. In 2014, when a 21-year-old López was pitching in A-ball with the Milwaukee Brewers, Mikael, then 13 months old, needed an intestinal transplant. A trip to another hospital in Miami followed. Mikael’s condition prompted Jorge and Karla to seek a children’s hospital in López’s native Puerto Rico early in Mikael’s life. Complications required the family to feed Mikael through a tube. The issues caused fever, pain in the chest and chronic inflammatory bowel disease. ![]() Mikael was born with autoimmune issues that López and his wife, Karla, would later learn were a combination of familial Mediterranean fever and Crohn’s disease. Well before López arrived in Baltimore, and even long before he was traded to Kansas City, Mikael’s health was a central thought in López’s mind. On Saturday, his 9th birthday, Jorge notched a save ❤️ /hQxXsHq4Oe Over the weekend, Mikael was able to see his dad play in person for the first time in three years. Orioles closer Jorge López’s son Mikael has spent much of his young life in hospitals due to a series of chronic illnesses. Before the game, Orioles players surprised Mikael with cake. According to López, Mikael had not seen him pitch in person for three years. Mikael, who has spent countless days at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in recent years, was cleared to fly to Boston for his 9th birthday. What did it mean to you for Mikael to fly to Boston to watch you pitch at Fenway Park? “I just throw the shit out of it,” he said, laughing. What does it feel like to be back in Kansas City? Inside the visitors clubhouse, López, who has a 0.93 ERA in 29 innings this season, changed into his black-and-orange Orioles apparel and continued to field questions from reporters. “Right now, he’s just happy.”Īnd for that - his 2022 pitching dominance a mere footnote - the same goes for Papa. In terms of his son’s health, López explained how much Mikael has improved since a recent bone marrow transplant and even chemotherapy. As it relates to pitching, a mechanical tweak and improvements to his body have fostered newer (and more consistently positive) outings. The 29-year-old, who has been one of Major League Baseball’s best relievers this season, then relayed how he’s evolved in the two years since Baltimore claimed him off waivers on Aug. ![]() ![]() The memories swirled as he showed up at the old ballpark Thursday. When López was pitching for Kansas City, Mikael spent months in hospitals. Two chronic autoimmune diseases have affected Mikael since birth. Many times, though, even as he toed the rubber, he was thinking about the family member who has long been at the forefront of his mind: his 9-year-old son, Mikael. Other nights, he would slump in his chair after allowing multiple home runs, his “KC” hat and eyes angled downward. Some nights, López would stand before his locker with his patented smile after throwing a gem. He had taken the late bus to Kauffman Stadium and now he was here, scanning a room filled with his Baltimore Orioles teammates, unlacing his white high-tops and preparing to play at a ballpark that harbors so many memories.įrom 2018 to 2020, López, then a member of the Kansas City Royals, trotted out to the mound in blue, utilizing an arsenal some club officials believed was the best they had. Jorge López entered the visitors clubhouse Thursday morning and was beaming.
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