1987 Topps, Dave Lopes

#4 Dave Lopes

In April, I posted an '81 Donruss of Davey that I got signed through the mail in 2014. I got this card signed that same year, but this one was in-person. The Dodgers, whom Davey coached for at the time, made a rare visit to Kansas City that summer. My Dad and I went up early so I could do some 'graphing and this was the one card of Davey that I got signed that day. As you can tell, I was having fun getting subset cards signed that year. Just look at the Steve Carlton Superstar Special that I posted last week for evidence of that.

Dave's career was practically over by the time this card came out. 1987 was his last season as a player and he only got into 47 games with the Astros and had just 43 at-bats. He hit .233 that final season with a home run and 6 RBI. For his career, Davey hit .263 with 155 home runs and 614 RBI. Plus, he stole 557 bases while making four All Star teams and winning one Gold Glove.

This card is commemorating Davey's feat of having the most stolen bases in a season for a 40 year-old. The season was split between the Cubs and Astos and Davey was able to swipe 25 bags on 33 attempts. The previous record was 23 and set by Honus Wagner in 1914. I still find it odd that Topps made this card, but did not do one for Steve Carlton's 4,000th strikeout.