Dodgers Legend Davey Lopes Retiring From Baseball

After 45 years within professional baseball, Dodgers’ legend Davey Lopes is calling it a career. Lopes played 16 seasons in the Majors, including 10 with the Dodgers. During his playing career, Lopes was known for his speed as he stole 557 bases. As a coach, he was known for facilitating a solid running game. Lopes most recently spent time as the Nationals’ first base coach in 2017.

His retirement was announced on Bill Ladson’s podcast, as well as Ladson’s story on MLB.com

Lopes debuted in 1972 for the Dodgers. During his career, he slashed .263/.349/.388 with 155 home runs, 557 stolen bases, and 50 triples. He was always a very disciplined hitter, walking 833 times against only 852 strikeouts during his 16 seasons. He spent the majority of his career as a second baseman, but also spent plenty of time in the outfield. When it was all said and done, Lopes was World Series champion in 1981, a 4-time All Star, a gold glove winner, and a 2-time stolen base leader.

Following his retirement from playing, Lopes went into coaching. He began as a first base coach for the Orioles in 1992, then the Padres from 1995-1999. In 2000, Lopes was hired as the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. Lopes spent just over two seasons in Milwaukee, and finished with a record of 144-195.

The most successful coaching stint of Lopes’ career was with Philadelphia. During his time with the Phillies, Lopes helped them lead the league in stolen base percentage for 3 consecutive seasons. In 2008, Lopes was a part of the Phillies World Series winning team, the second World Series victory of his career. Former Phillies and current Nationals outfielder Jayson Werth had nothing but great things to say about his first base coach.

“He was really good [when it came to] my overall mentality toward the game and how to play the game,” Werth said. “He was very instrumental and kind of molded me into the player I became.”

Lopes came back to where it all started for him in 2011, when he was hired as first base coach by the Dodgers. Lopes spent 5 seasons on Don Mattingly’s staff, where he helped players like Dee Gordon steal 130 bases and Matt Kemp steal 66 bases during his stint with the team. In 2016, Lopes left the Dodgers to join the coaching staff of his former Dodger teammate, Dusty Baker in Washington. This is ultimately where he would finish his storied career.

Davey Lopes will always be loved by Dodger fans for what he accomplished as a player. We wish him all the best in retirement and thank him for all the years he’s given to the fans.