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Former Milwaukee Brewers manager Davey Lopes, who spent two-plus seasons at the helm that included the team's move into Miller Park, died at age 80 after a battle with Parkinson's, according to TMZ.
The World Series champion and four-time All-Star as a player proved to be a formidable base-stealing threat for the Los Angeles Dodgers, swiping 77 bags in 1975 and another 63 in 1976 to lead the league both times, and that was before he made four all-star teams in his mid-30s. He won a Gold Glove and played big-league baseball until age 42, spending time with Oakland, the Chicago Cubs and Houston.
"Lopes was a member of the team’s record-setting infield of the 1970s and 1980s and one of the finest basestealers in MLB history," the Dodgers posted on social media. "Our condolences go out to his family and friends."
Lopes went on to a long career as a big-league coach, but he was only manager once, when the Brewers hired the San Diego Padres first-base coach in 1999, replacing Phil Garner (at the time the winningest manager in Brewers history) and his interim replacement, Jim Lefebvre.
The candidate pool at the time included Don Baylor, the Atlanta Braves hitting coach who looked like an early frontrunner for the job, though it ultimately came down to Lopes and former Brewers infielder Willie Randolph. The team also interviewed Cito Gaston, Ken Griffey Sr. and Carlos Tosca.
The Brewers were not in a competitive mode, however, and Lopes posted a record of 144-195 over his two-plus seasons, fired when the 2002 team started 3-12.
"You can take your batting average, your earned run average, whatever it is prior to today, it's gone, it's history, it's done," then-general manager Dean Taylor said. "Today is Opening Day II. We're turning a new page and starting a new chapter in the book."
Instead, under bench coach/interim manager Jerry Royster, the Brewers had a franchise-worst 56-106 record that season. Both Taylor and Royster were gone by 2003, with new general manager Doug Melvin and manager Ned Yost beginning the process of turning the franchise around.
Lopes was raised in Rhode Island and drafted by the Dodgers as an outfielder, though he moved to second base at the request of minor-league manager Tommy Lasorda.
Lasorda and Lopes both made it to the big leagues eventually, and Lasorda quickly spotted managerial potential in his scrappy second baseman. It's the position where Lopes won the Gold Glove in 1978 and where he played as the leadoff batter on the 1981 World Series champion Dodgers. His teams won the National League pennant as well in 1974, 1977 and 1978.
His 1,134 games played at second base is a Dodgers franchise record, as is his 83% success rate on stolen-base attempts.
After he was fired in Milwaukee, Lopes returned to the Padres as a coach and remained an MLB coach through the 2017 season, most recently with Washington.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Davey Lopes, former Milwaukee Brewers manager, dies at 80
Continue reading...
The World Series champion and four-time All-Star as a player proved to be a formidable base-stealing threat for the Los Angeles Dodgers, swiping 77 bags in 1975 and another 63 in 1976 to lead the league both times, and that was before he made four all-star teams in his mid-30s. He won a Gold Glove and played big-league baseball until age 42, spending time with Oakland, the Chicago Cubs and Houston.
"Lopes was a member of the team’s record-setting infield of the 1970s and 1980s and one of the finest basestealers in MLB history," the Dodgers posted on social media. "Our condolences go out to his family and friends."
Lopes went on to a long career as a big-league coach, but he was only manager once, when the Brewers hired the San Diego Padres first-base coach in 1999, replacing Phil Garner (at the time the winningest manager in Brewers history) and his interim replacement, Jim Lefebvre.
The candidate pool at the time included Don Baylor, the Atlanta Braves hitting coach who looked like an early frontrunner for the job, though it ultimately came down to Lopes and former Brewers infielder Willie Randolph. The team also interviewed Cito Gaston, Ken Griffey Sr. and Carlos Tosca.
The Brewers were not in a competitive mode, however, and Lopes posted a record of 144-195 over his two-plus seasons, fired when the 2002 team started 3-12.
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"You can take your batting average, your earned run average, whatever it is prior to today, it's gone, it's history, it's done," then-general manager Dean Taylor said. "Today is Opening Day II. We're turning a new page and starting a new chapter in the book."
Instead, under bench coach/interim manager Jerry Royster, the Brewers had a franchise-worst 56-106 record that season. Both Taylor and Royster were gone by 2003, with new general manager Doug Melvin and manager Ned Yost beginning the process of turning the franchise around.
Lopes was raised in Rhode Island and drafted by the Dodgers as an outfielder, though he moved to second base at the request of minor-league manager Tommy Lasorda.
You must be registered for see images attach
Lasorda and Lopes both made it to the big leagues eventually, and Lasorda quickly spotted managerial potential in his scrappy second baseman. It's the position where Lopes won the Gold Glove in 1978 and where he played as the leadoff batter on the 1981 World Series champion Dodgers. His teams won the National League pennant as well in 1974, 1977 and 1978.
His 1,134 games played at second base is a Dodgers franchise record, as is his 83% success rate on stolen-base attempts.
After he was fired in Milwaukee, Lopes returned to the Padres as a coach and remained an MLB coach through the 2017 season, most recently with Washington.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Davey Lopes, former Milwaukee Brewers manager, dies at 80
Continue reading...
