Davey Lopes

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David Earle Lopes (pronounced /loʊ̪ps/; 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. He is currently the first base coach and an outfield/baserunning instructor for the Philadelphia Phillies.

He is a Cape Verdean American.

[edit] Career

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

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 infields in baseball history, which was nicknamed "The Big Blue Wrecking Crew".

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.

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.

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.

Following his retirement as a player, Lopes coached for several teams, including stints as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and first base coach for the Washington Nationals. Currently, he is the first base coach of the Philadelphia Phillies.

[edit] Controversy

In 1977 in the NLCS, Davey Lopes was part of one of the most controversial plays in Playoff history. He was called safe despite a great play by Phillies' shortstop Larry Bowa.

In 2001, Lopes was the target of controversy following statements he made regarding stolen-base king Rickey 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 believed that this violated an unwritten rule against "showing up" the opposing team. Lopes made the following statement: "He was going on his ass. We were going to drill him." [1] [2] Henderson then withdrew from the game as a result of Lopes' threat to have him beaned. Lopes was suspended for two games for a violation of league rules. The Elias Sports Bureau subsequently documented that during his own playing career, Lopes had stolen seven bases while his teams were leading the game by seven or more runs.

[edit] Health

Lopes was diagnosed with prostate cancer following a routine physical in February, 2008. [3]

[edit] Highlights

• 4-time All-Star (1978-1981)
• First in the All-Star Game vote (1980)
• NL Gold Glove Award (1978)
• Twice led NL in stolen bases (1975-76)
• His career 557 stolen bases ranks him 24th in All-Time list
• Ranks sixth in All-Time list with an 83.01% stolen base success rate
• Ranks second in Dodgers history with 413 steals behind Maury Wills (490)
• In the 1978 World Series against the Yankees, hit two home runs and drove in five runs in Game One, and added another HR in the sixth and final game.
• Stole five bases in the 1981 NLCS
• Stole four bases in the 1981 World Series
• Set a NLCS record in stolen bases with nine
• Tied an NL record (since broken) with five stolen bases in a game (1974)

[edit] Feats

• On August 20, 1974, Lopes set a club record (since broken by Shawn Green) with 15 total bases in a Dodgers 18-8 victory against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Lopes hit three home runs, a double and a single, as Los Angeles totaled 48 bases, also a team record.

• In 1975, Lopes set a MLB record by stealing 38 consecutive bases without getting caught, broken a 53-year old mark set by Max Carey. Lopes' record was broken by Vince Coleman in 1989.

[edit] See also

• List of NL Gold Glove Winners at Second Base
• List of major league players with 500 stolen bases
• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 500 stolen bases
• List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 stolen bases

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball Library
• The Baseball Page
• San Diego Padres
• Davey Lopes Los Angeles Dodgers Online
• Providence RI Recreation Facility named in honor of Davey Lopes