Ranking the Top 5 greatest second basemen in Phillies franchise history

No. 3: Juan Samuel

Signed out of the Dominican Republic, Juan Samuel played parts of seven seasons, from 1983 to 1989, with the Phillies after getting the call to the big leagues. After just 18 games in 1983, he finished second in Rookie of the Year voting in 1984 when he racked up 72 stolen bases, 19 triples, 105 runs scored, and batted .272. The 72 stolen bases remains the single-season franchise record today.

Samuel was a force to be reckoned with whenever he got on base. In eight seasons where he played more than 130 games, he had more than 33 stolen bases in each one, with the exception of one season where he had just 23.

During his Phillies tenure, he swiped a total of 241 bases and scored 523 runs. While he wasn’t specifically known for his power, he still hit a respectable 15 home runs per 162 games. He made two All-Star games while with the Phillies, in 1984 and 1987, and won one Silver Slugger Award in 1987.

The Phillies teams didn’t have much team success when Samuel was in Philadelphia outside of making it to the World Series in 1983, the season in which he played just 18 games. In total, the Phillies went 454-516 in the six full seasons that Samuel manned second base.

Some fans will recognize Samuel as a coach. He was on the Phillies coaching staff from 2011 to 2017, serving as both the third and first base coach.