While future Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Joe Morgan were among the most prolific stolen base leaders during the 1970s, Davey Lopes may have been the game’s most consistent and reliable during that era and beyond.
A native of East Providence, R.I., Lopes passed away Wednesday at the age of 80 due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease. In an era when steals were more prevalent, only the aforementioned Brock and Morgan, along with Cesar Cedeno and Bobby Bonds had more.
Originally drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 8th round (158th overall) of the 1967 MLB Amateur Draft, Lopes decided to stay in college at Washburn University. A year later, he was picked 26th overall (2nd round) by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In September of 1972, Lopes would be called up to the big club and a year later, he began to establish himself as a game-changing basestealer. He was also part of a legendary infield in the franchise’s history.
From his first full season in 1973 through the ’81 campaign, Lopes played 1,139 games at second base for the Dodgers. In 833 of those games, he was joined in L.A.’s infield by first baseman Steve Garvey, third baseman Ron Cey and shortstop Bill Russell.
For nearly nine seasons in L.A., Lopes was one of game’s best leadoff hitters. In his first full season in 1973, Lopes batted .275 with 36 stolen bases and finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting. The next year, he stole 59 bags but was just starting to hit his stride.
On August 4, 1974, Lopes became the first Dodger since Maury Wills to steal four bases in a game, and 20 days later, he tied a then National League record with five steals against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Also on August 20, he set a club record (since broken by Shawn Green) with 15 total bases in a Dodger 18–8 victory against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. He hit three home runs, a double and a single, as Los Angeles totaled 48 bases, also a team record.
Davey Lopes Emerges As A Man of Steal
Lopes led the Majors with 77 steals in 1975 – a season during which he set an MLB record by swiping 38 consecutive bases without being caught (a mark broken by Vince Coleman in 1988) – and then paced the National League with 63 steals the following year.
A four-time All-Star from 1978 to 1981, Lopes maintained his base-stealing prowess while developing a bit of power as well. After hitting 17 homers in 1978, Lopes hit a career-high 28 home runs a year later.
At the time, he became one of only seven second basemen in NL history to have hit that many home runs in a season. This is a list that includes Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby, Ryne Sandberg, and Jeff Kent.
In fact, only Kent’s 29 dingers for L.A. in 2005 were more for a primary second baseman in a single season for the Dodgers. Even with the power uptake, Lopes maintained his consistency on the basepaths.
He stole at least 15 bases in every season in which he played at least 100 games, which was 14 of his 16-year career – excluding only his 11-game cameo in September 1972. He was also a force during the postseason as well.
In the 1977 NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies, he posted a 1.278 OPS with a pair of home runs, then in the World Series against the New York Yankees, he launched three home runs with a 1.011 OPS.
A year later, Lopes had the best World Series of his career, starting with two home runs in Game 1 against the Yankees. He also won a Gold Glove that season. Overall, he played in four World Series, winning the 1981 championship.
Magical Run With Dodgers Ends, Remains Stolen Base King
Before the 1982 season, the Dodgers sent Lopes to the Oakland A’s to make room for rookie second baseman Steve Sax. Lopes teamed with Hall of Famer Rickey Henderson to steal 158 bases, setting a new AL record for teammates.
During the season, Henderson collected 130 and Lopes had 28. Oakland would trade him to the Chicago Cubs on August 31, 1984, to complete an earlier deal for Chuck Rainey. He was then traded on July 21, 1986, to the Houston Astros for Frank DiPino.
He stole 47 bases at the age of 40 and 25 at age 41, before retiring at the end of the 1987 season. In a 16-season career, Lopes posted a .263 batting average with 155 homers and 614 RBIs in 1,812 games.
He stole 418 bases as a Dodger, second-highest career total in franchise history behind Maury Wills (490). Lopes holds the franchise record with an 83.1% career success rate (minimum 100 steals).
He also holds the Dodgers’ franchise record for most games played at second base with 1,134. His 1,145 games batting leadoff are second in the organization only to the aforementioned Wills (1,279).
In all, Lopes stole 557 bases in his career, which ranks 26th in MLB history. However, his career steal rate of 83% is higher than that of all-time steals leader Rickey Henderson (80.8%) and the second-ranked Lou Brock (75.3%).
Lopes was also named the fifth captain in Dodger history in 1977. Following his playing career, He coached and managed in the big leagues from 1988-2017, ultimately spending nearly a half-century career in baseball.
Davey Lopes Became Coach, Manager, Mentor Following Playing Days
The speedy second baseman who developed into a leader on and off the field, Lopes would serve as manager for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2000-02 during the franchise’s last season at County Stadium and first at Miller Park.
He was also the first-base coach and outfield/baserunning instructor for the 2008 Phillies club that won the World Series. In each of his three seasons in Philly, the team led the majors in stolen base percentage. In 2007, they had the best percentage in MLB history at 87.9% (138-for-157). They finished second or third in total steals each of those seasons. He also coached for the Dodgers, Nationals, Orioles and Padres.
He decided to retire from coaching after the 2017 season. He spent his final two seasons in the majors as the Nationals’ first-base coach. He also has a recreation center named after him in Providence, R.I.
Lopes is survived by his brothers, Patrick and John, and sisters, Jean, Judith, Mary and Nina.
