While the Washington Nationals have already begun their weekend series against the Milwaukee Brewers, they were met with some tragic news earlier this week. The team acknowledged and paid tribute to this former member of the organization for multiple years.
Davey Lopes, a former MLB player and longtime coach for several teams, passed away on Wednesday, April 8th at the age of 80. As a player, he had a 16-year career in which he spent time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros.
His playing career was a very good one, as he accumulated a .263/.349/.388 slash line and 42.4 Wins Above Replacement. He won a Gold Glove award back in 1978 for his work at second base, and also was a 4-time All-Star, making the team every season from 1978-1981, all for the Dodgers.
At his peak, Lopes was a premier power-speed threat who even led the entire league in stolen bases twice in his career. He stole a whopping 557 bases, the 26th-most in MLB history, which set him up nicely for his post-playing career on the coaching side of things. Another claim to fame for Lopes was that his 83% stolen base success rate is higher than Rickey Henderson, the all-time leader in steals, who sits just a touch below 81%.
As a coach, he spent time with the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies, the Dodgers, and of course, the Washington Nationals. Some of those teams he coached in multiple stints, including our beloved Nationals.
Lopes spent time in Washington with the team in their early days back in 2006 as a first base coach, and also came back for the same position with the Nationals back in 2015, and held the role for 2 seasons before retiring from baseball in its entirety in 2017. One unique fact about Lopes is that he spent time as either a player, manager, or coach for 45 consecutive years from 1972-2017.
It was ruled that Lopes passed due to complications from Parkinson's Disease, and tributes of support for his life poured in all across social media either from former teammates, colleagues, or fans of the game itself.
On behalf of the team here at District on Deck, Rest in Peace, Davey Lopes.
We join Major League Baseball in mourning the passing of Davey Lopes, who served as a member of the Nationals coaching staff in 2006 and from 2016-17. pic.twitter.com/1i5QUzLQXm
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) April 9, 2026
How will you remember Davey Lopes? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.