Davey Lopes was an outstanding second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers for most of the 1970s and early 1980s, playing for them in four World Series and getting a ring in 1981. He was part of a famous infield that included Steve Garvey, Bill Russell and another guy who later played for the Cubs, Ron Cey.
Lopes passed away Wednesday, about four weeks shy of his 81st birthday, reportedly from complications from Parkinson’s disease.
Lopes was a prolific base stealer in his early years, in an era when
stolen bases were a huge part of the game. He led the NL in steals in 1975 with 77 and in 1976 with 63.
He was thought to be done after 1981 at age 36, so the Dodgers traded him to the A’s for a minor leaguer. He had two decent years in Oakland and the Cubs acquired him one day before the deadline to qualify for the postseason roster in 1984, Aug. 31, as the player to be named later in a June 15 deal that had sent pitcher Chuck Rainey to the A’s.
Lopes didn’t play much for the Cubs in September 1984, just 16 games and 23 plate appearances, mostly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. And he appeared in just two of the NLCS games that year, once as a defensive replacement, the other as a pinch-hitter.
In 1985, though, with injuries taking their toll on the Cubs, Lopes played in 99 games, mostly as an outfielder, though he did play a bit of third base. He had a good year, batting .284/.383/.444 with 11 home runs in just 275 at-bats. And Lopes also stole 47 bases that year and was caught just four times. The 47 steals is still the MLB single-season record for any player age 40 or older.
Lopes was hitting well for the Cubs in 1986, batting .299/.419/.490 with 17 steals in just 59 games, but the team was well out of contention so they traded him to the Astros around the trade deadline for pitcher Frank DiPino, who had a couple of undistinguished seasons in the Cubs bullpen.
He did establish one distinction for the Cubs franchise before he left. On July 2, 1986, Lopes hit a walk-off home run against the Expos. At age 41 years, 60 days, Lopes is the oldest Cub ever to hit a walk-off homer. Here is video, from this Instagram post from last year when Justin Turner became the oldest Cub to do that since Lopes (and they are the only two aged 40 or older to hit walk-off homers for the Cubs).
After his playing career, Lopes coached for the Rangers, Orioles and Padres and managed the Brewers for two full seasons in 2000 and 2001 before he was fired 15 games into the 2002 season. Later he returned to coaching with the Padres and also coached with the Nationals, Phillies and Dodgers before retiring after the 2017 season.
Lopes had a 42.4 bWAR career and stole 557 bases, which ranks 26th all-time. He was definitely a Hall of Very Good player and I remember that 1985 season well — he just ran all over the place. He wasn’t a Cub very long, but that year was memorable.
Sincere condolences to Lopes’ family, friends and many fans around baseball.
