White Sox second baseman Lopez second to none promoting charitable causes
For Naperville Central graduate and Chicago White Sox second baseman Nicky Lopez, charity started at home.
“I was fortunate enough to be raised by two amazing parents (Angela and Bob) and have two older brothers, Anthony and Bobby. My parents, all they talked about was to respect others, treat others kindly,” Lopez said.
“There’s a lot of hate in this world,” he said, “and if you can add an ounce of love and respect and kindness to this world it can go a long way.”
As a Naperville Central sophomore it was reflected in Lopez being a J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation scholar — Anthony Lopez was, too — and mentoring special-needs students in high school.
Nicky Lopez broke into the majors with the Kansas City Royals on May 14, 2019. After a couple seasons there he started “Nicky’s No. 1’s,” a foundation to help youth in the community.
Traded to the Atlanta Braves midway through last season, then to the White Sox on Nov. 16, a day before marrying his wife, Sydney, they brought Nicky’s No. 1’s back home.
“When I got back here in Chicago I made it a point that I want to do stuff quite frequently,” said Nicky Lopez, reached Tuesday as he was driving to Guaranteed Rate Field from their West Loop home.
“It’s been something I’ve always wanted, and the White Sox have been unbelievable helping out and doing stuff for me.”
As part of National Nurses Week, on May 9 Nicky and Sydney Lopez, a travel nurse recruiter, visited Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Going room to room they visited with some two dozen inpatient children and families plus medical staff, delivering bagels, White Sox and mascot Southpaw stuffed animals, toys, blankets and pillows.
“Me and Sydney, we truly do enjoy it. We go there to put a smile on their face, to make their day. But in reality it also makes our day,” Nicky Lopez said.
Two days later, on May 11 he attended the grand opening of the FieldTurf field at Naperville’s DuPage River Sports Complex, joining people like Naperville Little League President David Page and former White Sox slugger Mike Huff in throwing out first pitches.
And on July 11 Nicky and Sydney Lopez will hold the inaugural 16-inch Softball Charity Classic, presented by Guaranteed Rate, at Mount Greenwood Park on Chicago’s South Side. Registration is available at whitesox.com/softball.
Net proceeds from the 16-team tournament will benefit Chicago White Sox Charities, the Andrew Weishar Foundation and the Justin Wegner Foundation. Wegner, a Naperville Central graduate, and Weishar, from Brother Rice, both were athletes who died of cancer in their early 20s.
Nicky Lopez, in fact, nominated Wegner as a J. Kyle Braid leader at Naperville Central in 2013.
Entering Tuesday’s action Lopez had yet to hit a home run for the White Sox. His philanthropy, though, is a round-tripper.
“It’s near and dear to me and my family’s heart to help each other,” Lopez said. “We’re super-excited to be in Chicago. We’ve always lent a helping hand, but to be able to do it at home, it’s something that’s very special.”
Breakthrough
After two seasons as runner-up and a third-place finish in 2021, Fremd broke through to win its fourth badminton state championship, and first since 2019, May 10-11 at DeKalb High School.
Finally getting over the hump against two-time defending champion Stevenson, the Vikings scored 18.5 points to Stevenson’s 18.0. Neuqua Valley, which shared second place with Fremd last season, was third with 17.0 points.
A crucial match came in fifth-place singles when Fremd sophomore Yelang Lee topped Stevenson sophomore Veronica Ornatsky 21-18, 21-13. Lee went 6-1 on the weekend.
Fremd freshman Sophia Lin took fourth place in singles, falling in three sets to Neuqua Valley junior Hannah George. Urbana’s Andrea Li won the state championship in two sets over IMSA junior Carissa Chen.
In doubles, Neuqua’s Luna Han and Kanyanat Vajworarat won the title over Stevenson’s Anvi Harish and Adalyn Shum, but Fremd got clutch points in a third-place victory by senior team Keerthana Rajkumar and Jeslin Vettikkatt, who totaled a team-high 5.5 points.
The season ended in the doubles consolation semifinals for Fremd senior Elle Zeng and Samantha Ye, but their combined 3.5 points helped Fremd lift the big trophy.
doberhelman@dailyherald.com