Juan Samuel

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Juan Milton Samuel (born December 9, 1960 in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic) is a baseball coach and a former second baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1983 through 1998, Samuel played for the Philadelphia Phillies (1983-88, 1989[start]), New York Mets (1989[end]), Los Angeles Dodgers (1990-91, 1992[start]), Kansas City Royals (1992[end], 1995[end]), Cincinnati Reds (1993), Detroit Tigers (1994, 1995[start]) and Toronto Blue Jays (1996-98). He batted and threw right handed.

In 2005, Samuel entered his sixth season as a coach with the Detroit Tigers, his third as the club's third base coach, after four seasons as the first base coach – a position to which he was named in 1999.

In a 16-season playing career, Samuel was a .259 hitter with 161 home runs and 703 RBI in 1720 games

Samuel was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980. A three-time All-Star, Samuel earned National League Rookie of the Year honors from The Sporting News in 1984, when he tied for the NL lead with 19 triples and placed second with 72 stolen bases.

In 1987, Samuel became the first player in major league history to reach double figures in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in each of his first four major league seasons. A year later, he fell short by one triple to repeat his feat by fifth consecutive year.

During his majors career, Samuel collected 1,578 hits, 396 stolen bases, and also reached double figures in home runs nine times. A popular player in Philadelphia, he appeared in the 1983 World Series, going 0-for-1 in three games.

Samuel was sent to the New York Mets during the 1989 midseason in the same transaction that brought Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell to Philadelphia. He also played two and a half seasons both for the Dodgers and Tigers, spent a year in Cincinnati, had two brief stints with the Royals, and provided three years of good services for Toronto, pinch-hitting, serving as DH, and playing at first base, second, third, left field and right. He retired after the 1998 season.

Samuel holds the major league record for most at-bats by a right-handed hitter in one season with 701, set in 1984. That mark is also the most for any National League batter in a single campaign. He also tied a ML record for consecutive strikeout titles with four (1984-87), shared with Hack Wilson (1927-30) and Vince DiMaggio (1942-45).

Juan Samuel's picture is on 1988 Steve Jeltz Donruss card #576. It is a Steve Jeltz card, front and back, yet Juan Samuel's picture appears in the photo section on front of the card.

In January 2006, Samuel was named the manager of the Double-A Binghamton Mets.

Samuel has a son named Samuel, whose name therefore is Samuel Samuel. The two names are pronounced differently, thus making it Sam-yull Sam-well.

In October 2006, Samuel was named the 3rd base coach for the Baltimore Orioles.

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