We just had a difference of opinion on what I felt my worth was. That’s all. It was a really tough decision because I loved my time in Philadelphia, I loved working for Charlie Manuel, and I have the utmost respect for everyone in that organization. I can’t say enough about how much I enjoyed my time in Philadelphia. I am really going to miss the atmosphere and the passion.
Believe me, I wasn’t looking to break the bank. I just think sometimes you get pigeonholed as a first-base coach, and I think I had a lot more responsibility than that. I guess you could say it’s a principle type thing. But I move on without hard feelings. I mean that. My time in Philadelphia was great.
Lopez was a four-time All-Star second baseman in the 1970s and 1980s, and ranks as one of the most efficient base-stealers in baseball history with 557 career steals at an 83 percent clip. He joined the Phillies’ coaching staff in 2006 and the team has led all of baseball in stolen base percentage in each of the past four seasons, including a record-setting 87.9 percent mark in 2007.
In light of those numbers and the dozens of articles praising him over the past 3-4 years it definitely seems odd that the Phillies would let him walk over a difference in money that presumably amounts to a fraction of the MLB minimum for players.
Salisbury notes that Lopes lives in San Diego and would like to join a West Coast team while listing Mariano Duncan, John Russell, and Juan Samuel as possible first base coach replacements in Philadelphia.