Former Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Davey Lopes passed away at the age of 80 years old. Lopes is survived by two brothers, Patrick and John; and four sisters, Jean, Judith, Mary and Nina.
Lopes made his MLB debut at 27 years old on Sept. 22, 1972 and would go on to play 10 seasons with the Dodgers. He earned four consecutive All-Star appearances from 1978 to 1981 and appeared in four World Series (1974, 1977, 1978 and 1981). Included in that stretch was winning the 1981 World Series with the Dodgers.
No player in the franchise’s history has played more games at second base than Lopes’ 1,134, and his 1,145 games batting leadoff are second in the organization to Maury Wills (1,279).
Lopes was a member of L.A.’s record-setting infield in the 1970s and 1980s, alongside Steve Garvey, Bill Russell and Ron Cey. The quartet started together in the infield for an unprecedented eight and a half consecutive seasons.
Lopes was one of the most prolific base stealers of his time, finishing with the second-highest career total (418) in franchise history behind Wills (490). On Aug. 4, 1974, Lopes became the first Dodgers player since Wills to steal four bases in a game, and 20 days later, he tied the NL record with five stolen bases against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Lopes was also incredibly efficient, holding the franchise record with an 83.1% career success rate (minimum 100 steals). From June 10-Aug. 24, 1975, he set a then-MLB record with 38 consecutive steals without being caught.
Lopes was more than just a base stealer during his career. He offered a skillset that was ahead of his time, with a mix of speed and power. The second baseman hit 99 home runs during his Dodgers tenure, including a career-high 28 in 1979. He also had 39 triples in L.A. and at least 15 doubles each season from 1974 to 1980.
Overall, Lopes played in the Majors for 16 years. He followed his Dodger career by suiting up for the Oakland Athletics (1982-84), Chicago Cubs (1984-86) and Houston Astros (1986-87).
His 557 career stolen base total is good for 26th in MLB history. Lopes finished his career hitting .263/.349/.388/.737 in 1,812 regular-season games with 155 home runs, 614 RBI, 232 doubles and 50 triples.
Davey Lopes’ coaching career
Lopes eventually transitioned to coaching in the Majors after his playing career and built a reputation as one of the best baserunning coaches in the sport. He was a manager for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2000-02 and coached for the Orioles, Padres, Nationals, Phillies and Dodgers.
He won a second World Series as the Phillies’ first-base coach, before returning to Los Angeles as the baserunning and first-base coach from 2011-15. He spent the final two seasons in the Major Leagues as the Nationals’ first-base coach in 2016-17.
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