RIP Davey Lopes

A member of one of the best infields of all time but unfortunately the Dodgers had to contend with the Reds , A's and Yankees . At least they got one ring together .

It was called "The Infield" - Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey. They played as a unit from 1973 - 1981. Lost WS in '74, '77 and '78 and won the strike shortened '81 Championship. Lopes left for Oakland in '82, Cey and Garvey left in '83. I got Lopes autograph a couple of times and he was a really nice guy. He was second only to Maury Wills in stolen bases in Dodger history. A true Dodger legend.

I was at game 5 of the 1981 World Series. That's the game that Goose Gossage hit Ron Cey in the head with a 94 mph fastball. The Dodgers won 2-1 on back to back home runs by Pedro Guerrero and Steve Yeager in the 7th inning. The crowd was so loud after the second home run that they paused the game for what seemed like an eternity, until the crowd quieted down. Dodgers clinched it in game 6. Great memories.

Yep - I remember THAT game !! Dodgers lost the 1st 2 games of the WS and then won 4 straight. Because of the strike shortened season, MLB decided on 1st half and 2nd half Division Champions, so there was an extra layer of playoff games. The Dodger played Houston in the Divion Round, lost the first 2 and had to win 3 in a row to advance to the NLCS vs Montreal. They were down 2-1 in that series, but won the final 2 games to advance to the WS. Quite a run for the Dodgers. Lopes missed most of the 2nd half with an injury with rookie Steve Sax filling in. Lasorda made the controversial decision to start Lopes in the playoffs even though Sax had a much better season. Lopes left for Oakland as a Free Agent in the off season.