Davey Lopes, part of Dodgers' historic infield and World Series winner, dies at age 80

Dodgers vs. Reds, 1980. Pictured Davey Lopes and Dave Concepcion.

(Joe Kennedy / Los Angeles Times) Davey Lopes , the no-nonsense, base-swiping second baseman on a historic Dodgers infield that played together for a record 8½ seasons, died Wednesday at age 80, the Dodgers announced. The first 10 years of Lopes' 16-year major league career were spent with the Dodgers , and he returned to the organization in 2011 to serve as first-base coach for five years. Lopes was a four-time All-Star who won two stolen base titles, one Gold Glove and helped the Dodgers to four World Series, including the championship in 1981.

Taken in the second round of a 1968 Dodgers draft haul considered the most talented in baseball history , the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Lopes rose from a rough-and-tumble Rhode Island upbringing to become the team's everyday second baseman and leadoff batter by 1973. Lopes played outfield in the minor leagues but became part of a bold move by Dodgers manager Walter Alston before the 1973 season: Lopes would move to second base, Bill Russell from center field to shortstop and Steve Garvey from third to first base. Ron Cey would be installed at third.

The Dodgers moved longtime coach and scout Monty Basgall — known as an exceptional infield instructor — from the front office to the field to help the players adjust to their new roles. Read more: Yoshinobu Yamamoto dazzles in his Toronto return as Dodgers extend their win streak The quartet took the infield together for the first time in the second game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds in a sold-out Dodger Stadium on June 23, 1973. They stuck together through their 1981 World Series championship season , after which Lopes was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Lance Hudson , a utility player who never made the major leagues.