| Davey Lopes | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Lopes coaching for the Nationals in 2017 | |
| Second baseman /Manager | |
| Born: (1945-05-03)May 3, 1945 (age 80) East Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 22, 1972, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 1987, for the Houston Astros | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .263 |
| Home runs | 155 |
| Runs batted in | 614 |
| Stolen bases | 557 |
| Managerial record | 144–195 |
| Winning % | .425 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
David Earl Lopes (/ˈloʊps/; born May 3, 1945) is anAmerican formersecond baseman andmanager inMajor League Baseball (MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. He played in MLB for theLos Angeles Dodgers,Oakland Athletics,Chicago Cubs, andHouston Astros; he managed theMilwaukee Brewers.
Born and raised inRhode Island, Lopes played in high school atLa Salle Academy inProvidence and in college forIowa Wesleyan College andWashburn University inKansas.
Lopes was selected by theSan Francisco Giants in the eighth round of the1967 MLB Draft but did not sign. He was taken by theLos Angeles Dodgers in the second round of the1968 MLB January Draft.
When Lopes started his career in the Dodger organization, he was an introvert, reserved and quiet.Tommy Lasorda encouraged him to assert himself more. According toTommy John, "And as his confidence grew, Dave did just that, becoming outspoken, a catalyst, a leader. He was a guy whose blazing speed made things happen on the field and whose personality made things happen in the clubhouse. When something needed to be said to a teammate, even if it was critical, Lopes would be the guy to say it."[1] Lasorda was also responsible for converting Lopes from anoutfielder into asecond baseman.[1] He played three seasons inTriple-A, inSpokane (1970–71) andAlbuquerque (1972), all with Lasorda as manager.
At age 27, Lopes made his major league debut for the Dodgers on September 22,1972, against the rivalGiants and was hitless in five at bats.[2] Two days later, he recorded his first hit on a single to right field off of the Giants'Jim Barr.[3] His first home run was hit on May 13,1973, also against Barr.[4]
Lopes spent nine seasons with the Dodgers as their regular second baseman. Along withSteve Garvey (1B),Bill Russell (SS), andRon Cey (3B), whichstayed together for eight and a half seasons.[5]
Used in the leadoff role most of his career, Lopes was one of the most effectivebase stealers in baseball's modern era.[6] His 557 career stolen bases rank26th all-time, but his success rate of 83.01% (557 steals in only 671 attempts) ranks3rd-best all time among players with 400 or more career stolen bases (behindTim Raines andWillie Wilson). In 1975, Lopes stole 38consecutive bases without getting caught, breaking a 53-year-old record set byMax Carey.[7] Lopes' record was later broken byVince Coleman in 1989. Lopes led theNational League with 77 steals in 1975, and again with 63 the following season.
A rare blend of speed and power, Lopes hit a career-high 28 home runs in 1979, becoming one of only seven second basemen in NL history to have hit that many home runs in a season (Rogers Hornsby,Davey Johnson,Jeff Kent,Ryne Sandberg,Juan Samuel andChase Utley are the others). He also hit 17 twice (1978 and 1983), appeared in four consecutiveAll-Star games from 1978 to 1981, played in oneDivision Series, sixNLCS and fourWorld Series, including as a member of the1981 World Champion Dodgers. Arguably Lopes' best World Series was against theYankees in1978, when he hit three home runs and seven RBIs.
Before the 1982 season, the Dodgers sent Lopes to theOakland Athletics (for minor leaguer Lance Hudson) to make room for rookie second basemanSteve Sax. With Oakland, Lopes teamed withRickey Henderson to steal 158 bases, setting a new American League record for teammates. Henderson collected 130, Lopes 28.
The Athletics traded him to theChicago Cubs on August 31, 1984, to complete an earlier deal forChuck Rainey. He was then traded on July 21, 1986, to theHouston Astros forFrank 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 .263batting average with 155home runs and 614runs batted in in 1,812games played.[8]
Following his retirement as a player, Lopes served as thebench coach for theTexas Rangers from 1989 to 1991. After leaving the Rangers, hecoachedfirst base for theBaltimore Orioles from 1992 to 1994 and theSan Diego Padres from 1995 to 1999. Lopes was hired as theMilwaukee Brewers manager in 2000 followingBud Selig's recommendation to hire a manager with a minority background.[8]
In 2001 Lopes was the target of controversy following statements he made regarding stolen-base kingRickey Henderson. Managing a game for the Milwaukee Brewers, Lopes was enraged that Henderson had stolen second base in the seventh inning, while Henderson's Padres held a seven-run lead. Lopes said that this violated anunwritten rule against "showing up" the opposing team. Lopes was quoted, "He was going on his ass. We were going to drill him."[9] However, Henderson was removed from the game. Afterwards, Lopes said "Somebody might not be as lenient as I was, and drill the hitter that's next to him [in the lineup]." The day after, theElias Sports Bureau produced a list of the seven times in Davey Lopes' playing career that he had stolen a base while his team was leading by seven or more runs.[10]
Tired of the Brewers' continued poor performance and Lopes' media and field antics, club management fired him as manager fifteen games into the 2002 season.[11] He was 144-195 in 3 seasons with the Brewers.[12]
Lopes rejoined the Padres as first base coach from 2003 to 2005 and then held the same position with theWashington Nationals in 2006 and thePhiladelphia Phillies from 2007 to 2010.
In each of his Lopes' three seasons with the Phillies, the team led the majors in stolen base percentage, including the best in MLB history in 2007 – 87.9% (138-for-157). They finished second or third in total steals each of those seasons.[13]
On November 22, 2010, he was named the first base coach for theLos Angeles Dodgers, a position he held through the 2015 season. On November 5, 2015, he was named the first base coach of theWashington Nationals. His contract expired after the 2017 season.[14]
Lopes decided to retire from coaching after the 2017 season.[15]
| G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,812 | 6,354 | 1,671 | 232 | 50 | 155 | 1,023 | 614 | 557 | 833 | 852 | .263 | .349 | .388 | .737 |
Defensively, Lopes recorded an overall .977fielding percentage. His primary position was second base, but also played all three outfield positions, third base and shortstop. In 50 postseason games, he posted a .238 batting average (43-for-181) with 29 runs, 3 doubles, 3 triples, 6 home runs, 22 RBI, 19 stolen bases and 25 walks.
| Team | From | To | Regular season record | Post–season record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | Win % | W | L | Win % | |||
| Milwaukee Brewers | 2000 | 2002 | 144 | 195 | .425 | — | ||
| Reference:[12] | ||||||||
Lopes was diagnosed withprostate cancer following a routine physical in February 2008.[17]
Lopes is ofCape Verdean descent. He has a recreation center named after him in Providence, Rhode Island.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Baltimore Orioles First Base coach 1992–1994 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | San Diego Padres First Base coach 1995–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | San Diego Padres First Base coach 2003–2005 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Washington Nationals First Base coach 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Philadelphia Phillies First Base coach 2007–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Los Angeles Dodgers First Base Coach 2011–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Washington Nationals First Base coach 2016-2017 | Succeeded by |
