{"id":119685,"date":"2026-04-22T01:40:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=119685"},"modified":"2026-04-22T01:40:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T05:40:42","slug":"greatest-infield-dodgers-history-davey-lopes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/22\/greatest-infield-dodgers-history-davey-lopes\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greatest Infield in Dodgers History?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Dodgers fans were saddened to hear of the recent passing of <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/l\/lopesda01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-04-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Davey Lopes<\/a>, a mainstay on a team that also featured <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/garvest01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-04-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steve Garvey<\/a>, <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/search\/search.fcgi?pid=russebi01,russebi02&amp;search=Bill+Russell&amp;utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-04-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bill Russell<\/a>, and <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/ceyro01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-04-22_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ron Cey<\/a> on the infield from 1973 to 1981. It is probably one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2022\/02\/27\/los-angeles-dodgers-all-time-team-tournament\/\" target=\"_self\">best in franchise history<\/a> and in baseball&#8217;s history as a whole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB7u1QJpBO\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3604px; aspect-ratio: 3604\/2769;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h2>Davey Lopes&#8217; Passing Leaves Hole in Legendary Dodgers Infield<\/h2>\n<h2>The Genesis of Greatness<\/h2>\n<p>The quartet of players didn&#8217;t start their illustrious careers ensconced in the infield. Lopes and Russell were outfielders when they started in the Los Angeles organization. Garvey was at the hot corner. Enter <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/managers\/lasorto01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tommy Lasorda<\/a>. The Dodgers <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2017\/12\/30\/dodgers-postseason-woes-since-1988\/\" target=\"_self\">legend<\/a> and the Los Angeles brass were instrumental in moving three of the four players into the positions that made them famous. The famous four were on the team at the beginning of the 1973 season, but only Russell was in the starting lineup at the beginning of the year. The quartet began playing together on June 13, 1973, when Garvey came in as a substitute in the middle of the fourth inning. The infield construction would remain unchanged for more than eight years.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">MLB Network mourns the passing of Davey Lopes. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/OZaCPm6Mvu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/OZaCPm6Mvu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBNetwork\/status\/2041953657923502475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>The Rest, As They Say, is History<\/h2>\n<p>Thus began the longest streak of four starters in the same infield positions in the history of baseball. It&#8217;s a record that will probably remain unbroken, thanks to salary structure and free agency. The players were great teammates and seemed to enjoy a certain camaraderie that can be missing in today&#8217;s game.<\/p>\n<h2>Accolades and Excellence<\/h2>\n<p>However, it wasn&#8217;t just their longevity and durability that set them apart. It was the things they accomplished, both individually and as a team, that will long be remembered.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;The Spark Plug&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>Davey Lopes was a four-time All-Star. He had 557 career steals and an 83% stolen base success rate. At one point, Lopes stole 38 consecutive bases without getting caught. He was exceptionally good on defense, winning a Gold Glove Award at second base in 1978.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;Ropes&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>Bill Russell spent his entire 18-year playing career in a Los Angeles Dodger uniform. The majority of that time was spent at one of the most demanding positions on the diamond: shortstop. He distinguished himself as a three-time All-Star and was mostly known for his glove. Russell&#8217;s veteran leadership was so valued that coaches had him mentor younger players, hence his nickname. When his playing days were over, he joined the coaching staff before becoming manager.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;Mr. Clean&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>Steve Garvey was a 10-time All-Star, including starting the game as a write-in candidate. He was a four-time Gold Glove Award winner at <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/25\/four-fantastic-first-basemen-dodgers-history\/\" target=\"_self\">first base<\/a>. Garvey won the 1974 Most Valuable Player in 1974 and had six seasons of 200 or more hits. He is still one of the most popular Dodgers to date, despite spending five years with the San Diego Padres.<\/p>\n<h2>&#8220;The Penguin&#8221;<\/h2>\n<p>Ron Cey manned the hot corner for the Dodgers for 11 seasons, and in the process became one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/01\/17\/four-greatest-dodgers-third-basemen\/\" target=\"_self\">greatest third basemen in Dodgers history<\/a>. He was a six-time All-Star, and he propelled the Dodgers to a World Series win over the New York Yankees in 1981. His clutch hitting in the Fall Classic garnered him the Most Valuable Player Award.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ron Cey joins MLB Now to remember his infield partner with the Dodgers, Davey Lopes. <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/kz4xVSyj33\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/kz4xVSyj33<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 MLB Now (@MLBNow) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MLBNow\/status\/2042323662091477448?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 9, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>The Last Word<\/h2>\n<p>In their eight-and-a-half-year tenure, this star-studded Dodgers infield won four National League pennants and finished worse than second place in the National League West Division only once. Ironically, the quartet was broken up after reaching the pinnacle of success, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/24\/yankees-dodgers-world-series-moments\/\" target=\"_self\">winning the World Series<\/a> in 1981. However, this run of excellence should continue to be recognized for its accomplishments that will never be replicated.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: \u00a9 Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Los Angeles Dodgers fans were saddened to hear of the recent passing of Davey Lopes, a mainstay on a team that also featured Steve Garvey, Bill Russell, and Ron Cey on the infield from 1973 to 1981. It is probably one of the best in franchise history and in baseball&#8217;s history as a whole. Davey [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5226,"featured_media":119888,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33,4454,1071],"tags":[6402,5357,3195,5409],"class_list":["post-119685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dodgers","category-baseball-history","category-mlb","tag-davey-lopes","tag-ron-cey","tag-steve-garvey","tag-tommy-lasorda"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5226"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119685"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119685\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":119890,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119685\/revisions\/119890"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}