April 08, 2026

Davey Lopes, the Phillies' World Series-winning former first base coach, dies at 80

Lopes had the Phillies as one of the best baserunning clubs in baseball during their breakout into an NL juggernaut in the late 2000s.

By Nick Tricome
PhillyVoice Staff

Tom Szczerbowski/Imagn Images

Davey Lopes was the Phillies' first base coach during the breakout into their golden era starting in 2007.

Davey Lopes, the first base coach for the Phillies' long-awaited breakout into the postseason in 2007 and then for their run to the World Series title in 2008, died Wednesday.

Lopes was 80.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who he played and coached for throughout his life, announced word of his passing.

The Phillies mourn the passing of Davey Lopes, who served as first base coach for the 2008 World Series championship club over his four seasons with the organization (2007-10). We extend our deepest sympathies to his family, friends, teammates, and all who had the privilege of… pic.twitter.com/GsSWBnhAg5
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 8, 2026

Lopes was the Phillies' first base coach from 2007-2010, which coincided with Jimmy Rollins' MVP season in 2007 (when he stole 41 bases), the club's rally to win the NL East and make the postseason for the first time in 13 years at the end of that '07 season, the run to the World Series title in 2008, a second consecutive National League pennant in 2009, and then another NLCS appearance in 2010.

Across those four seasons, the Phillies were always within the top 10 in stolen bases in the majors – 4th with 138 in 2007, 4th with 136 in 2008, 7th with 119 in 2009, and 10th with 108 in 2010.

Lopes was a constant, if not a bit understated, fixture of former manager Charlie Manuel's coaching staff, who fans regularly saw as Phillies batters made their way up the first-base line.

He was vital, though, once they were on the base paths, and his career as a player easily showed why.

Lopes played 16 seasons in the majors, primarily with the Dodgers. Through 10 years in L.A., he was a four-time All-Star, stole more than 40 bases six times, led baseball in stolen bases in 1975 (77) and 1976 (63), and in 1981, won the World Series with the Dodgers over the New York Yankees.

For the next six years after, Lopes had stints with the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros before making the switch into coaching, getting his start as a bench coach for the Texas Rangers from 1989-1991.

Lopes then moved on to first base coach roles with the Baltimore Orioles and the San Digeo Padres, until he got a shot as a manager for the Milwaukee Brewers that lasted shy of three years from 2000-2002.

He went back to being a first base coach from there, returning to the Padres and then moving on to the Washington Nationals before finding his way to the Phillies.

After Lopes left Philadelphia in 2010, he got a run as the Dodgers' first base coach from 2010-2015 and then two more years with the Nationals before retiring following the 2017 season.