Dodgers News: First Base Coach Lopes Heading to Nationals

Davey Lopes a long-standing entity within the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, has reportedly been hired away by the Washington Nationals to join new manager Dusty Baker.

Lopes has spent the last five years as the franchise’s first base coach, after having played for the Dodgers from 1972 to 1981.

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The L.A. Times’ Bill Shaikin first tweeted the news.

Davey Lopes, who had coached for #Dodgers the past 5 seasons, hired by Nationals to coach under Dusty Baker.

— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) November 5, 2015

Baker was introduced Thursday afternoon in Washington and gave the kind of press conference you would expect from Dusty Baker, an ever-charismatic figure.

One issue the Dodgers fell under scrutiny for last year was their inability to manufacture runs on the baselines. The issue with that criticism, though, is how the roster was put together.

When Dee Gordon was still playing second base and brought that speed to the top of lineup, it would make sense the Dodgers could steal bases more frequently with lineups like they had last year – which were much less conducive to that style of play.

So, those saying good riddance to Lopes and somehow blaming him for the lack of aggression on the base paths (there really aren’t that many people saying this kind of thing) have to also take into account the other factors in how the Dodgers strategically handled their time on base.

Best of luck, though, to Davey, who’ll remain a lifelong Dodger.