Ranking the Top 5 greatest second basemen in Phillies franchise history

No. 2: Manny Trillo

Manny Trillo’s Phillies career was just four years long, but the four years were the peak of his career. From 1979 to 1982, his time with the Phillies, he won three Gold Glove Awards, two Silver Slugger Awards, and made two All-Star game appearances. He shared the infield with other Phillie legends Mike Schmidt, Larry Bowa, Pete Rose, and Bob Boone.

Interestingly, Trillo was originally signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 1968 but was then snagged by the Oakland Athletics in the 1969 Rule 5 Draft. He spent 1973 to 1978 with the Athletics and Chicago Cubs before the Phillies were able to bring him back to Piladelphia via trade for the 1979 season.

His statistics don’t jump off the page, and he was never the most dominant batter, but he was able to hit for average and came up with clutch hits to contribute to the 1980 World Series-winning team. He hit .277/.321/.369 in his Phillies career, striking out just 195 times in four full seasons. His calling card was his defense, and his many Gold Gloves show just that.

Being a part of a World Series champion will always ingratiate yourself to the fans of Philadelphia, making him one of the best second basemen in Phillies history. Manny Trillo was inducted into the Wall of Fame in 2021.