Houston Astros Lopez Ready for WBC as Venezuela's Head Coach

Houston Astros first base coach Omar López will be coaching Team Venezuela with All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve on his squad.

Omar López has been with the Houston Astros for quite some time, starting out as a scout and hitting instructor in Venezuela from 1997-2007 and then slowly moved up the ranks in the organization to become the team's first base coach in 2019. 

Now he gets the opportunity to coach Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic as their head coach with a handful of stars from Major League Baseball including Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers, Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals, Luis Arraez of the Miami Marlins among other stars. Speaking with Brian McTaggart of the MLB.com, Lopez laid out his expectations for his team during the upcoming tournament.

"I think the expectation from now on is making sure the players understand they’re not 100 percent ready [for the regular season] and they have to give 100 percent of whatever amount of percentage they are [ready], It’s an extension of Spring Training ... we need to keep working in order not to regress on the steps forward they already made. And have fun and enjoy it."

Astros All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve, who will play for Venezuela during the World Baseball Classic, said that he is excited for López and is ready to play for him. 

"Obviously, it’s not going to be the first time I played for him, He was [one of] my first managers as a professional, so we know each other pretty good. I know how hard he works and how hard he wants to win and how hard he wants to keep going. … He’s a professional and knows a lot about baseball, and also brings a lot of good things like chemistry and relationship between players."

The Astros will play Team Venezuela Wednesday at 5:05 p.m. CT at the Astros Spring Training facility in Florida. It will be aired locally on AT&T SportsNet and on KBME 790 for radio.

The pitching matchup will be Ranger Suarez of the Philadelphia Phillies for Venezuela with Brandon Bielak on the mound for Houston. 

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