According to TSN on Wednesday, former Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman Davey Lopes of East Providence, Rhode Island passed away at the age of 80. The cause of death was Parkinson’s Disease according to marca.com.
Lopes played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues from 1972 to 1987. He was with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1972 to 1981, the Oakland Athletics from 1982 to 1984, the Chicago Cubs from 1984 to 1986, and the Houston Astros from 1986 to 1987. For four straight years from 1978 to 1981, Lopes was a National League All-Star.
Known for his speed on the base paths, Lopes led the Major Leagues with 77 stolen bases in 1975, and the National League with 63 stolen bases in 1976. He finished his career with 557 stolen bases, which is 26th on the Major League Baseball all-time list.
Lopes batted .263 with 155 home runs and 614 runs batted in. During 1812 games, 6354 at bats and 7340 plate appearances, he scored 1023 runs and had 1671 hits, 232 doubles, 50 triples, 833 walks, 2468 total bases, 74 sacrifice bunts, and 48 sacrifice flies. Lopes had a career on base percentage of .349 and a career slugging percentage of .388.
Once as a player Lopes won the World Series. He was on the Dodgers team that won in 1981. During his last six games as a member of the Dodgers, Lopes batted .227 with five hits in 22 at bats. The Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in six games.
After his playing career, Lopes managed the Milwaukee Brewers for three seasons from 2000 to 2002. He had a record of 144 wins and 195 losses. Lopes was also an assistant coach for the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers.
