Davey Lopes

David Earl Lopes (born May 3, 1945 in East Providence, Rhode Island) is a former second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right handed.

Career

In a 16-season career, Lopes posted a .263 batting average with 155 home runs and 614 RBI in 1812 games.

Related Topics:
Batting average - Home run - RBI - Games

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Lopes spent nine seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers as their regular second baseman. Along with Steve Garvey (1B), Bill Russell (SS) and Ron Cey (3B), he formed the longest running (and one of the greatest) infield in baseball history, which was nicknamed "The Big Blue Wrecking Crew".

Related Topics:
Los Angeles Dodgers - Steve Garvey - 1B - Bill Russell - SS - Ron Cey - 3B - Infield

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Used in the leadoff role most of his career, Lopes has been one of the most effective base stealers in baseball's modern era, retiring with 557 stolen bases (83.01%). In 1975, he established what was then a MLB record by stealing 38 consecutive bases without getting caught, leading the National League with 77 steals and again with 63 the following season.

Related Topics:
Base stealers - 1975 - National League

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A rare blend of speed and power, Lopes hit a career-high 28 home runs in 1979, becoming one of only six second basemen in NL history to have hit most home runs in a season (Rogers Hornsby, Davey Johnson, Jeff Kent, Ryne Sandberg and Juan Samuel are the others). He also hit 17 twice (1978 and 1983), appeared in four consecutive All-Star games from 1978-81, played in one Division Series, six NLCS and four World Series, including as a member of the 1981 World Champion Dodgers.

Related Topics:
Rogers Hornsby - Davey Johnson - Jeff Kent - Ryne Sandberg - Juan Samuel - All-Star - Division Series - NLCS - World Series - 1981 World Champion

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Before the 1982 season, the Dodgers sent Lopes to the Oakland Athletics to make room for rookie second baseman Steve Sax, breaking up the longest playing infield in history who had been starters since 1974. With Oakland, Lopes teamed with Rickey Henderson to steal 158 bases, setting a new record for teammates. Henderson collected 130, Lopes 28.  After that, Lopes also played with the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros. Amazingly, he stole 47 bases at the age of forty and 35 at forty-one, retiring at the end of the 1987 season.

Related Topics:
Oakland Athletics - Steve Sax - Rickey Henderson - Chicago Cubs - Houston Astros

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Following his retirement as a player, Lopes coached for several teams, managed the Milwaukee Brewers and in the minors. Currently, he is a first base coach for the San Diego Padres.

Related Topics:
Coached - Milwaukee Brewers - Minors - San Diego Padres

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