Spokane Indians remember Davey Lopes

Davey Lopes, a four-time National League All-Star with the Los Angeles Dodgers and a key part of the legendary 1970 Spokane Indians, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 80.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Davey Lopes, one of the most iconic figures from our long affiliation with the Dodgers," Spokane Indians General Manager/Vice President Kyle Day said in a news release released by the organization on April 8. "Davey was a key part of one of the greatest MiLB teams of all time—the legendary 1970 Spokane Indians—and went on to have on remarkable big league career. Our thoughts are with his family and friends in this difficult time."

A native of East Providence, Rhode Island, Lopes was an all-state athlete in baseball and basketball in high school before playing collegiately at Iowa Wesleyan University and Washburn University. After being drafted by the Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 1968 MLB January Draft-Secondary Phase, Lopes spent a pair of seasons with Daytona Beach in the Florida State League before reaching Spokane in 1970.

Lopes spent the majority of his first year with Spokane in the outfield, slashing .262/.339/.382 with 11 stolen bases as the Indians rolled to a Pacific Coast League championship. He split time between the outfield and second base in 1971, improving to .306/.383/.433 at the plate while adding nine triples and 27 stolen bases.

After receiving a cup of coffee with the Dodgers in 1972, Lopes took over as the starting second baseman for good in 1973 and would team up with fellow Spokane Indians alums Ron Cey, Bill Russell, and Steve Garvey to form L.A.'s infield for the next 8 1/2 years—an MLB record.

Lopes led the National League in stolen bases in 1975-76 and earned the first of four consecutive All-Star appearances in 1978. He departed Los Angeles following the team's World Series title in 1981 and spent the final six seasons of his MLB career with the Athletics, Cubs, and Astros.

Overall, Lopes finished with a .263/.349/.388 slash line, 557 stolen bases, 1,671 hits, 1,023 runs, 232 doubles, 50 triples, 155 home runs, 614 RBI, and 42.4 bWAR over his 16-year career. His 557 stolen bases are the 26th-most in MLB history while his 42.4 bWAR ranks 43rd all time among MLB second baseman.

Following his playing career, Lopes managed and coached in the big leagues with Brewers, Orioles, Padres, Nationals, Phillies and Dodgers, spending parts of three seasons as Milwaukee's manager (2000-2002) and winning a second World Series title as Philadelphia's first base coach in 2008.