MIAMI — A little more than a month after dominating on the mound in the postseason, the Twins right-hander Pablo Lopez showed off his pickleball skills for a good cause.
López hosted Pickleball for Pets on Thursday at the Miami Shores Tennis Club, combining two of his interests into a charity event with proceeds going to a local organization. Paws4You Rescue.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, López tried pickleball for the first time and stuck with it. He jokes that his baseball offseason is his pickleball season, playing once or twice a week. He and his wife, Kaylee, adopted their dog, Bennie, during the 2019 offseason. López, who didn’t have pets growing up, said it was love at first sight. For the past two years, Kaylee has donated dog toys and supplies to Paws4You Rescue, which brought three of its 90 dogs in hopes of adopting them, according to founder Carol Caridad.
“We have things that we like, we have things that we enjoy, other than playing the sports that we play,” López said. “As an athlete, I like all kinds of sports. Tennis is one of them, but it’s too risky to play tennis. It puts a lot of strain on the body. So pickleball is a miniature version of tennis, with less stress on the body, but you can still have so much fun. And it was one of my passions.
“And since Kaylee and I got our dog four years ago, we developed this kind of love, care for animals, for pets, for cats, for everything, and then we thought that it was a good idea to try to make it happen. Just like merging these passions and making it something fun, something cool. And we partnered with such a cool place that takes great care of animals, and they were willing to bring a few dogs here to hopefully find their forever homes. We just saw it as a great opportunity to really bring this project to fruition, something that is a passion of ours, and then, we hope to create something good for the community.”
Although López no longer plays for the Marlins, he still lives in South Florida during the offseason. He considers it a responsibility to give back to the community. López hopes the event can expand next year — and perhaps even have an iteration in the Twin Cities.
A drizzle couldn’t stop López from taking turns playing singles and doubles matches for three hours, bouncing from court to court with the participants. Their gifts included the rare chance to compete against a professional athlete and enjoy food and drinks. Philanthropy couldn’t come at a more ideal time, as Thursday marked Treat yourself to the day in Miamione of the nation’s largest annual 24-hour giving events, an online campaign where residents can donate to local organizations or causes.
“I’m fortunate – like a lot of MLB players – to have this incredible platform to have all these incredible resources that are made available to us, and I think taking advantage of the opportunity to create something that is a passion for for us, something that can be nice for the community,” López said. “It’s very important, and doing it here in South Florida, I played for the Marlins for five years, I live at home in the offseason here in South Florida. So I think that this community has given me a lot. It’s just a little bit, but giving back is good.”
Attendees made sure to congratulate López on his career year in 2023. With time, he was able to soak in everything he accomplished in his first season with Minnesota. Oddly enough, he credits his dog, Bennie, who often attended Bark at the Park games in Miami or Spring Training exhibitions, with keeping him humble, honest and in the moment.
“Unforgettable,” López said of 2023. “Obviously I was a little heartbroken at the end of the season, because I was hopeful. We had such a good team, we had good momentum after breaking the playoff drought and all that. So I really thought we were going to go further. We didn’t. So for the first 7-10 days I was a little nostalgic, but now It’s been a while, it was just a year to remember for all kinds of reasons.
“Getting to know the Twins community, being a part of Twins territory, how the season went, ups and downs. But the resilience was there to make sure that in five days, I’m going to pick up the ball and give it my all, and the results started to come as I stuck to my approach. And now that I’ve had time to reflect, it’s a year I’m proud of, and it gives me the motivation to try to make the next one even smoother. better.”
