Lopes hit .275 for Los Angeles in his rookie year, with 36 stolen bases and 77 runs scored, giving the team an idea of what he’d end up doing over the next eight years while making the All-Star team four times while also taking home a Gold Glove.
He’d would lead the National League in stolen bases two years in a row: 1975 and 1976, with a high of 77 in ‘75 and 63 in 1976.
What always amazed me about that 1976 total was that he stole those 63 bases on only 103 hits! Incredible to think he swiped so many bags on so few hits (along with 53 base on balls).
On occasion he’d also show some “pop”, as he did in arguably his finest season in the big leagues when he hit 28 homers to go along with 44 stolen bases, 109 runs scored and 97 walks in 1979, starting the All-Star game alongside his teammate Steve Garvey.
By the time he retired after the 1987 season, he collected 557 stolen bases and 1023 runs scored to go along with 1671 hits and a .263 batting average.
And to think, he didn’t play his first full season until the age of 28 in 1973. I never realized he got such a late start in his MLB career.
