Davey Lopes, Dodgers infield star, dies at 80
Davey Lopes, a four-time Major League Baseball All-Star and key member of the Los Angeles Dodgers' record-setting infield, has died at age 80. The Dodgers confirmed his death in a statement released Wednesday. Lopes played most of his 16-year career with the Dodgers from 1972 to 1981.
Lopes debuted with the Dodgers at age 27 and contributed to their 1981 World Series championship, his fourth consecutive All-Star selection. After leaving Los Angeles, he played for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros until age 42. He then transitioned to coaching, serving as bench coach for the Texas Rangers from 1989 to 1991, in various roles with the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres, and as manager of the Milwaukee Brewers from 2000 to 2002, where he posted a 144-195 record.
Lopes later worked as first base coach for the Padres, Washington Nationals and Philadelphia Phillies before retiring in 2017 after 45 consecutive years in baseball. At second base, he joined Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Bill Russell for 833 games with the Dodgers, an MLB record according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Lopes stole 557 bases in his career, ranking 26th all-time, led the National League in 1975 with 77 and in 1976 with 63, and set a since-broken record with 38 consecutive steals that year. He won a Gold Glove in 1978 and finished with a .263 batting average, 1,671 hits, 155 home runs and 614 RBI over 1,812 games.
The Dodgers described Lopes as one of MLB's finest base stealers and a pillar of their infield from the 1970s and 1980s.
