CHICAGO — The Chicago White Sox may have had the day off before hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates for a weekend series, but Nicky Lopez still spent Thursday night on a diamond, hosting a 16-inch softball tournament that has a mission close to his heart.
The 16-team event at Mount Greenwood Park on the South Side, dubbed The 16-Inch Softball Charity Classic, was created to help support adolescent and young adult cancer patients and their families, after former classmates of Lopez and his brother were taken by the disease at a young age.
Lopez’s dad, Bob Lopez, who is a 16-inch softball hall of famer, was also a part of the tournament. He told WGN News it was an honor to help raise money to fight back against cancer in young adults.
“Its dear both to my son Anthony & Nicky,” Bob Lopez said. “Both had friends who passed away from cancer so, to do anything to help them, lend a hand, it’s awesome.”
Net proceeds from the tournament will benefit Chicago White Sox Charities, as well as the Andrew Weishar and Justin Wegner Foundations, two non-profit organizations who prioritize assisting adolescents and young adults battling cancer.
Wegner, nicknamed “J-Weg,” was teammates with Nicky Lopez and played catcher alongside him at Naperville Central High School. He died at age 22 from a rare form of soft tissue cancer.
Wednesday was the fifth anniversary of Wegner’s passing, the same year Lopez made his Major League Baseball debut with the Kansas City Royals.
“He was great. He was two years younger than me. I won the J. Kyle Braid Leadership Award in high school and I actually nominated him when he was a sophomore to win the award,” Lopez told WGN News’ Eli Ong back in May. “He won the same award too, just a great kid.”
Weishar played football at nearby Brother Rice High School, and later Illinois Wesleyan University, where he was a classmate of Lopez’s brother Anthony. Before Weishar died at age 21, he asked those he left behind to “pay forward” the kindness shown to his family during his battle against cancer.
It’s memories from his times playing alongside Wegner, and sentiments shared by Weishar, that lend added emphasis to Lopez wanting to be a constant presence helping the Chicago community.
“I’ve always been community-driven,” Lopez said. “I’m given a platform as a major league player and if I didn’t use it, It would be a disservice.”
And even though Lopez’s first season in Chicago has been a bit of a rocky road, Lopez and his wife Sydney, along with all the organizers, players and teams in Mount Greenwood Thursday night provided an important dose of perspective for things larger than any good — or bad — baseball season.
“Early on this year, me and my wife went to a children’s hospital, walked around, gave gifts to kids in the hospital,” Lopez said. “You leave there thinking, you know, I’m mad to go 0-for-4 today, but that kid there’s fighting for his life in that hospital room, and I play a game.
“It does put things in perspective and kind of brings you back to one day at a time, roll with the punches, ride the wave so to speak, and there’s stuff bigger than baseball.”