Davey Lopes, four-time All-Star and one of MLB’s greatest base stealers, dead at 80
Davey Lopes, a four-time MLB All-Star known for swiping bags while on the basepaths, has died. He was 80.
The Los Angeles Dodgers, who Lopes played most of his 16-year career with, released a statement on Wednesday confirming his death.
“The Dodgers mourn the loss of Davey Lopes, who passed away today at age 80. Lopes was a member of the team’s record-setting infield of the 1970s and 1980s and one of the finest base stealers in MLB history.
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“Our condolences go out to his family and friends.”
Lopes secured one World Series during his years in Los Angeles, as he was part of the 1981 squad that won it all. It was also the fourth straight season Lopes made the All-Star team for the National League.
He also played for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros following his time with the Dodgers, and doing so up until 42 years old before getting into coaching.
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Lopes was a late bloomer in terms of debut age, playing his first game for the Dodgers at 27 in 1972. And right after retirement, Lopes remained in MLB, serving as bench coach for the Texas Rangers from 1989-91.
From there, he would bounce around to the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres in various roles until he landed as a manager for the Milwaukee Brewers.
Lopes held that post from 2000-02, going 144-195 in those three seasons before being axed. He went back to the Padres to serve as their first base coach before holding the same position with the Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies.
Lopes eventually retired from coaching in 2017, marking 45 consecutive years, almost half-a-century, that he was making an impact on America’s pastime.
But perhaps his biggest impact was being a part of a Dodgers’ infield that has gone down in history as one of the greatest four-man squads to play the game. While Lopes was playing second base, he was accompanied by first baseman Steve Garvey, third baseman Ron Cey and shortstop Bill Russell.
In Lopes’ 1,139 games at second base for the Dodgers, he played 833 with the other three, which is an MLB record, per the Elias Sports Bureau. The next closest is 623 games, set by the Cubs in the 1960s.
Lopes was also a speed demon on the basepaths, tallying 557 stolen bases, which puts him 26th all-time. He led the league while with the Dodgers in back-to-back seasons in 1975 (77) and 1976 (63).
In 1975, Lopes set an MLB record with 38 consecutive stolen bases without getting caught, which was since broken by Vince Coleman in 1988.
In the field, Lopes collected a Gold Glove Award in 1978, while providing solid defensive work for whichever team he played for throughout his career.
Lopes slashed .263/.349/.388 with a .737 OPS for his career, collecting 1,671 hits, 232 doubles, 155 home runs and 614 RBI in 1,812 games.
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