The Phillies have named Juan Samuel special assistant to player development and international scouting, the club announced today. In this role, he will work with minor league players at the Phillies’ training complexes in both the Dominican Republic and in Clearwater, Fla., in addition to helping the club identify talent in the international scouting market.
“Juan is an outstanding person, professional and a Phillies legend,” said Phillies Assistant General Manager Jorge Velandia. “We are going to use his expertise in all facets of the game, and he will be a tremendous resource, not only for our younger players, but also for our player development staff.”
Inducted into the Phillies’ Wall of Fame in 2008, Samuel was signed by the club as an amateur free agent on April 29, 1980. He spent the first seven years of his 16-year major league career with the Phillies, and over 852 games with the club, he hit .263 with 176 doubles, 71 triples, 100 home runs, 413 RBI, 249 stolen bases and 523 runs scored. Samuel scored 100 or more runs three times (1984-85 & 1987) and became the first player in National League history to record double figures in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in each of his first four major league seasons.
A three-time NL All-Star – twice with the Phillies in 1984 and 1987 and once with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991 – Samuel debuted for the Phillies in 1983 and was a member of the National League pennant-winning club that season. In his first full year in Philadelphia in 1984, he set the club’s single-season record for stolen bases (72) and finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting to the New York Mets’ Dwight Gooden. In 1987, Samuel won a Silver Slugger Award after recording 100 RBI and tallying 80 extra-base hits, including an MLB-best 15 triples.
Over the remainder of his playing career, Samuel also appeared for the Mets (1989), Dodgers (1990-92), Kansas City Royals (1992; 1995), Cincinnati Reds (1993), Detroit Tigers (1994-95) and Toronto Blue Jays (1996-98).
Following his playing career, Samuel worked as a coach in major and minor league ranks in the Tigers, Mets, Reds, Baltimore Orioles and Phillies organizations. He was named interim manager of the Orioles in the 2010 season before becoming a part of the Phillies major league staff from 2011-17. This past year, he served as a minor league hitting instructor in the Reds organization.
A native of San Pedro de Macorís, DR, Samuel was selected as the starting second baseman on the All-Vet Team in 2003 to commemorate the closing of Veterans Stadium and in 2006, was named winner of the Phillies Latino Legends Award.
COURTESY PHILLIES MEDIA RELATIONS & MLBpressbox.com
