David Earle Lopes (; born May 3, 1945) is an American former second baseman and manager in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). He batted and threw right-handed. He played in MLB for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brookly ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros; he managed the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

Career

Playing

Lopes was drafted by the

in the 2nd round of the 1968 MLB January Draft. Previously, he had played in high school at La Salle Academy and in college for Iowa Wesleyan College and Washburn University. He had previously been drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in the 8th round of the

1967 MLB Draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the profe ...

but did not sign. 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 to Tommy 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." Lasorda was also responsible for converting Lopes from an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

into a second baseman. Lopes made his Major League debut for the Dodgers on September 22, 1972, against the

and was 0 for 5 in that game. He recorded his first hit on a single to right field off of the Giants Jim Barr on September 24, 1972. His first home run was hit on May 13, 1973, also against Barr. Davey Lopes - Los Angeles Dodgers

Lopes spent nine seasons with the

as their regular second baseman. Along with Steve Garvey ( 1B), Bill Russell ( SS) and Ron Cey ( 3B), which stayed together for eight and a half seasons. Used in the leadoff role most of his career, Lopes was one of the most effective base stealers in baseball's modern era. His 557 career stolen bases rank 26th all-time, but his success rate of 83.01% (557 steals in only 671 attempts) ranks 3rd-best all time among players with 400 or more career stolen bases (behind Tim Raines and Willie Wilson). In 1975, Lopes stole 38 consecutive bases without getting caught, breaking a 53-year-old record set by

Max Carey Maximillian George Carnarius (January 11, 1890 – May 30, 1976), known as Max George Carey, was an American professional baseball center fielder and manager. Carey played in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1910 through ...

. Lopes' record was later broken by

Vince Coleman Vince Coleman may refer to: *Vince Coleman (train dispatcher) (1872–1917), Canadian train dispatcher killed in the Halifax Explosion *Vince Coleman (baseball) Vincent Maurice Coleman (born September 22, 1961) is an American former Major League ...

in 1989. Lopes led the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

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 and Chase Utley are the others). He also hit 17 twice (1978 and 1983), appeared in four consecutive All-Star games from 1978 to 1981, played in one Division Series, six

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

and four

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

, including as a member of the 1981 World Champion Dodgers. Arguably Lopes' best World Series was against the Yankees in 1978, when he hit three home runs and seven RBIs. Before the 1982 season, the Dodgers sent Lopes to the

(for minor leaguer Lance Hudson) to make room for rookie second baseman Steve Sax. With Oakland, Lopes teamed with

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

to steal 158 bases, setting a new American League record for teammates. Henderson collected 130, Lopes 28. The Athletics traded 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 home runs and 614 runs batted in in 1,812 games played. He played in four All-Star Games and four

Coaching

Following his retirement as a player, Lopes coached first base for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

from 1992 to 1994 and the San Diego Padres from 1995 to 1999. Lopes was hired as the

manager in 2000 following Bud Selig's recommendation to hire a manager with a minority background. In 2001 Lopes was the target of controversy following statements he made regarding stolen-base king

. 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 an

unwritten rule Unwritten rules (synonyms: Unspoken rules) are behavioral constraints imposed in organizations or societies that are not typically voiced or written down. They usually exist in unspoken and unwritten format because they form a part of the logical ...

against "showing up" the opposing team. Lopes was quoted, "He was going on his ass. We were going to drill him." 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

n the lineup N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

" The day after, the Elias 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. 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. He was 144-195 in 3 seasons with the Brewers. Lopes rejoined the Padres as first base coach from 2003 to 2005 and then held the same position with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

in 2006 and the Philadelphia 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. On November 22, 2010, he was named the first base coach for the

, a position he held through the 2015 season. On November 5, 2015, he was named the first base coach of the

. His contract expired after the 2017 season. Lopes decided to retire from coaching after the 2017 season.

Statistics

Playing career

Defensively, Lopes recorded an overall .977 fielding 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.

Managerial record

Personal life

Lopes was diagnosed with

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that su ...

following a routine physical in February 2008. Lopes is of Cape Verdean descent. He has a recreation center named after him in Providence, RI.

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 26th 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 The 1981 National League Championship Series was a best-of-five series to end the 1981 National League season. It was the 13th National League Championship Series, NLCS in all. The series featured the first-half National League West, West Divisi ...

*Stole four bases in the 1981 World Series *Set a NLCS record (since broken) with eight career stolen bases *Tied an NL record (since broken) with five stolen bases in a game (1974)

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 A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

and a single, as Los Angeles totaled 48 bases, also a team record. *In 1975, Lopes set an MLB record by stealing 38 consecutive bases without getting caught, breaking a 53-year-old mark set by

. Lopes' record was broken by

in 1989.

References

External links

*Davey Lopes a
Baseball Almanac
*Davey Lopes at Baseball Biography: *
Davey Lopes
*
Davey Lopes
- Baseballbiography.com *Davey Lopes a
Pura Pelota
(Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) *Davey Lope
Washington Nationals BioThe Baseball PageDavey Lopes Los Angeles Dodgers OnlineProvidence RI Recreation Facility named in honor of Davey LopesBaseball Gauge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopes, Davey 1945 births Living people African-American baseball players African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball managers Albuquerque Dukes players Baltimore Orioles coaches Baseball players from Rhode Island Chicago Cubs players Daytona Beach Dodgers players Gold Glove Award winners Houston Astros players La Salle Academy alumni Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball second basemen Milwaukee Brewers managers National League All-Stars National League stolen base champions Oakland Athletics players People from East Providence, Rhode Island Philadelphia Phillies coaches San Diego Padres coaches Spokane Indians players Tucson Toros players Washburn Ichabods baseball players Washburn Ichabods men's basketball players Washington Nationals coaches American men's basketball players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople American people of Cape Verdean descent