1976 Hostess #105 - Dave Lopes

• Here's another beat up Hostess card that I got from a lot on eBay.
• Lopes was the first  Dodger to sign a contract for the 1976 season.
• Before the 1976 season there was some talk of moving Lopes to shortstop and playing Ted Sizemore at second base. Dodger shortstop Bill Russell was mentioned in trade talks between the Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals for Reggie Smith, but he eventually stayed with the club.
• Dave was still playing a little bit in center field in 1976. After the 1976 season Lopes would play all of his games but two at 2B until he moved to the Oakland A's in 1982.
• In 1976 Lopes led the NL with 63 stolen bases and batted .241 in 117 games
• Dave missed the first month of the 1976 due to a pulled muscle in his side that he suffered during spring training.
• Before peak, peak, or after peak? early peak

1976 Topps Card of the Year (Round 2, Group 3)

• Oscar Gamble Traded, Steve Garvey, Carl Yastrzemski, and Jerry Reuss all made it to the next round. Jerry Reuss and Sal Bando were tied for the fourth spot so I made an "executive decision"
• Please vote for your favorite(s) from Group 3. The top four cards will advance to the next round.
• The following cards comprise Group 3 of round 2:

Greg Luzinski #610

Kurt Bevacqua Bubble Blowing Championship #564

Dave Lopes RB #4

Luis Tiant #130

Gene Tenace #165

Rick Manning #275

Al Oliver #260

Mike Schmidt #480

1976 Topps Card of the year - Round 1, Group 2

• The four cards from Group 1 that will advance are: Carl Yastrzemski, Al Oliver, Bill Plummer, and Brian Downing. 

• There was no love shown for the checklist card. It was the only one that received no votes.

• Here is the next group of eight cards. Please vote for your four favorites from this group. The top four from this group will advance to round 2.

#477 Cleveland Indians

#48 Dave Concepcion

#213 Dave Heaverlo

#4 Dave Lopes Record Breaker

#185 Dave Parker

#512 Ellie Rodriguez

#50 Fred Lynn

#103 Biff Pocoroba

1976 Topps #660 - Dave Lopes

• Davey Lopes had a 16-year career as a second baseman, mostly with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He's called "Davey" even though a lot of his cards say, "Dave." Lopes was drafted by the Dodgers in 1968 (Turn Back the Clock - The Dodgers Put Together the Greatest Draft in Baseball - September 2008 Baseball Digest) and didn't get into the majors until he was 27 years old in 1972 (.214 in 11 games). According to this card Davey was born in 1946 but his Baseball Reference entry says 1945.
• Lopes became the starting second baseman for the Dodgers in 1973. Davey, along with teammate Ron Cey, finished tied for 6th in NL Rookie of the Year voting. Lopes batted .275 in 142 games in 1973. What Makes Davey Lopes Run? - March 1974 Baseball Digest
• Davey batted .266 in 145 games in 1974 and stole 59 bases. Normally that many stolen bases would lead a league (or at least come close to it), but that was the year Lou Brock stole 118 bases. He stole five bases in one game on August 25. Lopes went 5 for 14 (.267) in the NLCS and was 2 for 18 (.111) in the World Series.
• Lopes led the NL with 77 stolen bases in 1975 while batting .262 in 155 games. He set a record by stealing 38 bases in a row without being caught (the record has since been  broken by Vince Coleman).
• Despite playing in only 117 games and batting .241, Lopes led the NL with 63 stolen bases in 1976. Davey had a pulled muscle in his rib cage that prevented him from playing until May 4.
• Davey batted .283 with 11 home runs and stole 47  bases in 1977. Lopes batted .235 (4 for 17) in the NLCS and batted .167 (4 for 24) in the World Series.
• Lopes made the first of four straight NL All Star teams in 1978 (he singled in a run in his only at bat). Dave also won his only Gold Glove in 1978 and batted .278 with 17 home runs. Lopes stole 45 bases and was caught only four times in 1978. Lopes batted .389 (7 for 18) in the NLCS and batted .308 (8 for 26) in the World Series. In game 1 of the 1978 World Series Lopes homered twice and had 5 RBI. Davey Lopes: Captain of the Dodgers - June 1978 Baseball Digest
• Davey had a power surge in 1979 as he hit a career-high 28 home runs. Lopes batted .265 and also walked 97 times and stole 44 bases in 1979. Lopes was the starting second baseman in the All Star Game and went 1 for 3.
• Lopes started to slow down a bit in 1980. He batted .251 with 10 HR in 1980. Dave was the starting second baseman in the All Star Game and grounded out in his only at bat.
• Davey really struggled with the bat in 1981. He went on the disabled list in mid-May and when the strike started on June 11 Lopes was batting only .169. Lopes finished the season with a .206 average in 58 games. Lopes started at 2B for the NL in the 1981 All Star Game and walked in his only plate appearance. Davey went 5 for 20 (.200) in the NLDS, was 5 for 18 (.278) with five stolen bases in the NLCS, and went 5 for 22 (.227) with four stolen bases in the World Series.
• After the 1981 season Lopes was traded to the Oakland A's for minor leaguer Lance Hudson to make room for rookie Steve Sax. The trade broke up the famous Dodger infield (Garvey/Lopes/Russell/Cey) that played together for  nine seasons. Who Elected The Dodgers' Davey Lopes A Villain? - January 1982 Baseball Digest.
• Lopes batted .242 with 28 stolen bases for the A's in 1982. In 1983 Davey batted .277 with 17 HR and 22 stolen bases.  Davey Lopes: The Game I'll Never Forget - April 1982 Baseball Digest.
• Davey started the 1984 season with the A's as a utilityman. He batted .257 in 57 games for the A's and was traded to the Chicago Cubs on August 31. Lopes batted .235 in 16 games for the Cubs in the last part of the 1984 season. He was 0 for 1 in the 1984 NLCS.
• In 1985, at the age of 40, Lopes had a remarkable accomplishment. He stole 47 bases and was caught only four times. Davey batted .284 with 11 HR in 1985.
• Lopes was with the Cubs for the first part of the 1986 season . He batted .299 in 59 games and was traded to the Houston Astros on July 21 for Frank DiPino. Davey batted .237 in 37 games for the Astros to finish the 1986 season. Lopes was 0 for 2 with a walk in the 1986 NLCS.
• Before the 1987 season Lopes signed a contract (1 year plus an  option year) for $550,000. Not bad for a 42-year-old! Davey was hampered by a strained right elbow in 1987. He was mostly a pinch hitter in 1987 and batted .233 in 43 AB. The Astros didn't renew the option on Davey's contract and Lopes retired after the 1987 season.
• After his playing career Lopes coached in the  majors, mostly for Texas, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. Davey also had a 2+ year stint as  manager of the Milwaukee Brewers from 2000-2002. Lopes was given a lot of credit for the Philadelphia Phillies' success on the basepaths in the late 2000s as their first base coach.
• Lopes was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008 and has made a successful recovery.
• Davey Lopes Recalls His Big League Career - June 2009 Baseball Digest
• Davey Lopes has recently been hired to coach first base for the Dodgers in 2011.
• Liked to face: Tom Underwood (.529 in 17 AB); Dave Roberts (.471 in 34 AB); Clay Kirby (.462 in 26 AB)
• Hated to face: Bob Welch/Jim Willoughby (.000 in 10 AB); Randy  Moffitt (.042 in 24 AB); Rollie Fingers (.063 in 16 AB)

1976 Topps #197 - NL Stolen Base Leaders

• I love the stolen base. Games go on longer when speedsters get on base, but it's more exciting to me than to sit back and wait for the long ball.

• Dave Lopes led the NL in stolen bases in 1975 and 1976. He was a great percentage base stealer--his lifetime success percentage was 83% and he stole 557 bases in his career.

• Joe Morgan never led the league in stolen bases, but he stole 40 or more bases every year from 1969-1977. Morgan's lifetime success rate was 81% and he stole 689 bases in his career.

• Lou Brock was the greatest base stealer of all time until Rickey Henderson came along. As evidenced on the back of this card, Brock led the NL in stolen bases every year except one from 1966-1974. He was second in 1964, 1965, and 1970. He also led the NL in caught stealing seven times. Brock had 938 career stolen bases and a lifetime 75% success rate.
  

1976 Topps #4 - Dave Lopes Record Breaker

This one is out of order since I just now acquired the card thanks to Johngy. :)

Dave Lopes had a nice stolen base streak for about 2 1/2 months in 1975. If this picture was taken during the streak, it would have been on August 8, 9 or 10, 1975.

Vince Coleman has the record now -- he stole 50 bases in a row from 9/18/1988 to 7/26/1989. Ichiro almost broke the record in 2007, but he fell short when he was caught stealing on May 17. He had 45 in a row at that point.