Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Davey Lopes: An Unsung Rhode Islander Coaches The Phillies

Oddly, I "remembered" that Davey Lopes had played briefly for the New York Mets some time after I began to root for them (1974 + ). When I look on the internet pages, I don't find anything to back that up. The Mets and Dodgers played more often in those days. There were two divisions and no inter-league play, save for the post season.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_Lopes

Any way, I have been hoping to meet Davey Lopes ever since I moved to RI (August,1982). I have met more than a few cousins. My dear friend Billy Sylvia was his half brother, I believe. I've driven past the Rec center with his name countless times.

Rocco Baldelli and Dan Wheeler are getting attention in the sports pages for representing our fair state. The ProJo has neglected Davey Lopes.

Davey Lopes has a long and rich history. As hard as it is for me to root for the Phillies -- I will always root for Davey. I'm glad his health is strong enough for him to return to coaching. And I hope he has another chance (or many) to manage.

And Davey, we're all pulling for your sister's health too.

2 comments:

SeattleDan said...

I grew up a Dodger fan, and have fond memories of the Garvey, Lopes, Russell and Cey infield. Lopes was a fine hitter and fielder, and helped anchor that late 70's, early 80's excellent LA team.

I didn't know he was from RI, though. How cool!

Anonymous said...

Nomi:

When I was living in New Bedfor (or New beige as a lot of the Cape Verdeans called it) a lot of folks claimed Davey as their own. It's too bad his style of play did not fit the Red Sox teams of that era (get on base, stay there until somebody hits one over the "Monstah")--it woulda been fun for his friends to see him play there.

democommie