Results tagged ‘ Juan Samuel ’
Philadelphia Phillies – Awards: Stolen Base Champions.
During the past 123 seasons, starting in 1886, when the National League have been able to record stolen bases, eight Phils have eleven times stolen more bases than anyone else in the NL, including one time when a Phil was tied with another National Leaguer.
The first Phil, when the team was then called the Quakers, to win the stolen base title, Ed Andrews, is also the first National Leaguer to win the title, winning it in 1886 with 56 stolen bases. The next Phillie player to win the title was Jim Fogarty, who won it with 99 steals in 1889. Hall of Famer Billy Hamilton was the third Phil to lead the league in steals, doing it four times in a six-year period, with 102 steals in 1890, 111 steals in 1891 (which is still the team’s franchise record, although Juan Samuel is listed as the modern single season steal leader with his 72 steals in 1984), 98 in 1894 and 97 in 1895. Fellow Hall of Famer Ed Delahanty became the fourth Phillie player to lead the league in steals, stealing 58 bases in 1898. No Phil would win the title for the next thirty-four seasons. Hall of Famer Chuck Klein then became the fifth Phil to win the stolen base crown with his 20 steals during his MVP season of 1932. Danny Murtaugh becomes the next Phil to win the title, swiping just 18 bases in 1941. Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn was the seventh Phil to win the title as he steals 32 bases during his rookie season of 1948. It would then be another fifty-three seasons before another Phil would win the title. In 2001, Jimmy Rollins would win the title, tying with Juan Pierre of the Colorado Rockies, with both men stealing 46 bases.
Of the eight Phils to lead the league in stolen bases, four of them (Billy Hamilton, Ed Delahanty, Chuck Klein and Richie Ashburn) are now in the Hall of Famers, responsible for a total of seven titles. Hamilton has the highest total among the champs, with 111 steal in 1891, setting the franchise’s overall stolen base record, while Danny Murtaugh has the lowest with his 18 steals in 1941. The Phils have won seven stolen base titles in the 19th Century, three in the 20th Century, and one, so far, in the 21st Century.
Who would be the next Phillie player to lead the National League in stolen bases? Jimmy Rollins is the most likely Phil to win it, but history is not on his side.
Juan Samuel becomes the 30th Phil to join the Phillies’ Walk of Fame.
That’s how the player known for his hustle and determination went into the Phillies Wall of Fame, as its 2008 inductee on Friday. The career moments also showed Samuel with a constant smile, a common aspect of his personality.
“This is special,” Samuel said. “It’s mind-boggling to me that every time I visit a town I’m visiting, people recognize me as a Phillie. I’m proud of that.”
Surprisingly, Samuel didn’t slide headfirst onto the podium to accept the honor. The mountain of black hair that used to barely fit under his cap has been replaced by short graying hair.
Smiling as he listened to roars from the Citizens Bank Park crowd, Samuel became emotional when thanking the fans. With tears streaming down Samuel’s cheeks, he stopped mid-sentence to wipe his eyes.
Just then, it seemed the gravity of sharing a stage with nine Phillies greats who were present — Hall of Famers Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts and Jim Bunning, plus Bob Boone, Tony Taylor, Dick Allen, Greg Luzinski and Dallas Green — finally sunk in for the team’s 30th inductee to the Phillies Wall of Fame.
“Some of the guys I played with, some coached me and some I watched play on my black-and-white TV in the Dominican,” Samuel said. “It’s special that they’re here to share this moment with me.”
Samuel, 47, debuted in 1983 and had an exciting combination of power and speed. His 28 homers in 1987 stood as a record for homers by a second baseman until Chase Utley broke it in 2006.
Samuel remained with the Phillies until June 18, 1989, when he went to the Mets in a deal that brought Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell to Philadelphia. He was crushed to leave the city, and still considers himself a Phillie nearly 20 years later.
“I do,” said Samuel, who is the third-base coach for the Orioles. “There’s so many people here that I know very well that I keep in touch with. I want this team to go as far as it can and win a championship for those folks. I follow them.”
Samuel said that most of his memorabilia is from his days with the Phillies — uniform jerseys, his Silver Slugger Award from 1987, the ball from his first hit and first home run. Memories.
“Sammy was the most exciting player on the Phillies in the early ’80s. He had power, average, great arm and speed to burn,” Schmidt said. “He hit in front of me and created RBI situations every game. He was my young son’s favorite player through the ’80s.”
The applause for the popular Samuel seconded that notion. Many came out on 8-8-08 to honor the player who wore No. 8.
“Perfect, Samuel said. “Somebody must have planned it that way. This is a good day.” (H/T Phillies.com)
And Juan Samuel now joins the likes of Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Tony Taylor, Richie Ashburn, Robin Roberts into the Phillies’ Walk of Fame. And I’m happy to hear that he’d loved playing baseball in this city and that he still follows the team. Hey guys, can we quit embrassing yourselves in front of Juan? I’m just saying!!! As I’d said when it was announced that he would be joining the Walk of Fame that it was a shame that the Phillies couldn’t get into the post-season while he was playing here.
Juan Samuel will be joining the Phillies’ Wall of Fame on Friday.
There’s Jim Bunning, who threw a perfect game in 1964. There’s Chuck Klein, who earned at least a share of the National League home run title four times between 1929-33. All four of the Phillies enshrined in baseball’s Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. — Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt — are also represented in the Phillies Wall of Fame.
On Friday, they’ll welcome No. 30 to the ranks when Juan Samuel is inducted.
Samuel signed with the Phillies as an amateur free agent on April 29, 1980, and made his Major League debut on Aug. 24, 1983. He hit leadoff in that game, and tripled in his second at-bat. In 1984, he set the Phils’ single-season and rookie records with 72 stolen bases on his way to 105 runs scored and 191 hits. Samuel also set modern Phillies records for triples, with 19, and at-bats (701) in a season. Shortstop Jimmy Rollins broke both marks in his 2007 MVP campaign.
Samuel became the first player in Major League history to reach double digits in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in each of his first four seasons.
“It’s a tremendous honor for me to be a part of the Phillies Wall of Fame with so many greats — ex-teammates and guys who I saw play when I was in the Minor Leagues who were part of that 1980 [World Series] championship club,” Samuel said. “Growing up in the Dominican Republic, and finding myself here now is tremendous.”
Samuel’s 6 1/2 years with Philadelphia were just the beginning of a 16-season Major League career that also included time with the Mets, Dodgers, Royals, Reds, Tigers and Blue Jays. Samuel is also a member of the Dominican Republic’s baseball Hall of Fame and a member of the Reading (Pa.) Hall of Fame, for the 47 games he spent there in 1983.
Samuel, 47, will attend the pregame ceremonies for Friday’s contest against the Pirates, and all fans will receive a commemorative poster of Samuel, courtesy of Toyota.
Samuel, now the third-base coach for the Orioles, said that he felt like he never left Philadelphia. On a recent road trip through Toronto, Samuel learned that Phillies fans also feel like he hasn’t left.
“One of the custom agents saw my passport and said, ‘Oh yeah, you played for the Phillies,’” Samuel said. “I said, ‘I played for the Blue Jays, too.’ People who know me know how much I loved the Phillies and the fans in Philly.” (H/T Phillies.com)
Another former Phil will be added to the Walk of Fame. And fan favorite Juan Samuel will be the one receiving the bronze plague this coming Friday. As I’d said earlier, it’s a real shame that the team couldn’t get into the playoff after Juan joined the team full time in ’84, but sadly, this was when the team have left the hands of the Carpenter family and have went into the hands of Bill Giles and his silent idiot partners. Of course, we all know how well the team have thrived under their control. *Sigh* Anyway, enough of that. Anyone who plans to go to the ballpark on Friday to watch the ceremony and the game, please enjoy yourselves.
Juan Samuel has been named to the Phillies’ Wall of Fame.
The Phillies announced Monday that Juan Samuel will be inducted as the team’s 30th member of the Wall of Fame. The former second baseman spent his first 6 1/2 seasons in Philadelphia, stealing 246 bases from 1983-89 and making two All-Star teams.
Signed by the Phillies on April 29, 1980, Samuel debuted on Aug. 24, 1983. Batting leadoff, he tripled in his second at-bat. The next season, he set the organization’s single-season and rookie records with 72 stolen bases on his way to 105 runs scored and 191 hits. He also set modern club records for triples (19) and at-bats (701) in a season. Both marks were broken last season by Jimmy Rollins.
He became the first player in Major League history to reach double digits in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in each of his first four seasons.
Samuel, 47, is currently coaching third base in Baltimore, and will attend the pregame ceremonies for the Aug. 8 game against the Pirates. All fans receive a commemorative poster of Samuel, courtesy of Toyota.
Fellow Wall of Famers Robin Roberts (1978), Jim Bunning (1984), Steve Carlton (1989), Mike Schmidt (1990), Dick Allen (1994), Greg Luzinski (1998), Tony Taylor (2002), Bob Boone (2005) and Dallas Green (2006) are expected to be in attendance.
Wall of Fame balloting annually begins with online voting on phillies.com during Spring Training. A total of 15 Phillies Alumni are on the ballot. The top five vote-getters are then presented to a special Wall of Fame Selection Committee that chooses the inductee.
The other four finalists this year were Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, John Kruk and Greg Gross.
Samuel remained a fan favorite until June 18, 1989, when the Phillies traded him to the Mets in a deal that landed Dykstra. In 16 seasons, Samuel hit .259 with 396 stolen bases and 873 runs. (H/T Phillies.com)
Nice to see Sammy get the nod this year. Can’t wait to see what his plague will look like.
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