Juan Samuel: Phillies First Base Coach
Today at TBOH we’ll continue our 9-part series on the Philadelphia Phillies uniformed coaching staff with a focus on the team’s First Base Coach, Juan Samuel.
Signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic at age 19 during the 1980 World Series campaign, Samuel began a long and prosperous MLB career in 1983. Sammy spent 7 strong seasons in Philadelphia; amassing 249 steals, 100 home runs, and 413 RBI. The career 3x NL All-Star set the Phillies’ modern era single-season record for stolen bases with 72 in 1984.
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In 1989, Samuel’s Phillies career ended in a trade to the Mets for Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell and a PTBNL. After the Phils, Samuel would still have solid seasons ahead for the Mets, Dodgers, Royals, Reds, Tigers, and Blue Jays. Calling it a career in 1998, he finished with a .259 career batting average, 161 home runs, 703 RBI, and 396 stolen bases.
Immediately following his playing career, Samuel rejoined the Tigers organization as a First Base Coach in 1999. He would eventually move to the Third Base Coach position for Detroit early in the 2002 season.
After a short stint managing with Double-A Binghamton in 2006, Samuel returned to the majors in 2007 to coach at third base for the Orioles. When things got sour for Baltimore in 2010, Samuel was called upon to serve as the Interim Manager for the dismissed Dave Trembley, and he fashioned a 17-34 record as the O’s skipper.
In 2011, Samuel would return to his Philadelphia roots to coach third base. He then switched to his current position of First Base Coach in 2013, temporarily filling in at third for two months when Ryne Sandberg was promoted to Interim Manager after the dismissal of Charlie Manuel.
As First Base Coach with the Phils, Samuel is tasked with telling the batter whether to take the extra base or not, advising runners who are on first on if/when to steal, passing on signals from the manager, and assisting in preventing pick-offs.
Samuel considers the quality of the runner, the strength and accuracy of the catcher’s arm, and a pitcher’s pick-off move when analyzing if a runner should steal or not at that instant. He also must analyze his baserunners speed and the opposing outfielder’s defensive abilities when deciding on whether to wave hitters on to 2nd base.
Samuel is in a fairly unique position with the Phillies because he also serves as a base-running and outfield instructor. With a potential outfield of Darin Ruf, Ben Revere, and Domonic Brown in 2015, the Phillies could certainly use his tutelage in the defensive department.
Now entering his 12th overall season in a Phillies uniform, Juan Samuel has seen the good times and the bad with the organization. He has played in the same lineup as Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, and Steve Carlton. He has coached all of the recent heroes. A fan favorite who is also good at his job, Sammy remains a key member of the Phillies coaching staff.