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Juan Samuel

Juan Samuel
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 151 of 1218 players
Samuel
Juan Milton Samuel
Born: December 9, 1960 at San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 5.11 Weight: 170

Juan Samuel was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on February 16, 2006, June 4, 2010, and November 6, 2022.

of

First Mets game: June 19, 1989
Last Mets game: September 30, 1989

Share your memories of Juan Samuel

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Won Doney
March 16, 2001
The trade for him ranks up their with the trade for Jim Fregosi. How could they have possibly have traded away Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell for a second baseman turned outfielder?

Richard Kissel
March 30, 2001
From the second I heard that the Mets traded Lenny Dykstra for Juan Samuel, it saddened me. It became clear that the 1986 Mets were dead and buried. Simply an idiotic trade.

Larry Burns
May 29, 2002
An awful trade that hurt the Mets for years. Juan was another great 2nd bagger who came to the Mets and blew (the other being Carlos Baerga). Losing Dykstra ripped a hole in the soul of the Mets. My only fond memory of Juan was when he got the game winning hit against the Reds when the stands were chanting "Diiiiiiii-ble!" at their resident douche, Rob Dibble.

I don't believe he had much of a post-Mets career. I once thought I saw him on a landscaping crew in my neighborhood, but I was mistaken. Overall, a huge disappointment.

BG
June 7, 2002
Was that not the dumbest trade in team history? Dykstra reached his prime with Philadelphia in the five seasons after the trade, becomming one of the top players in the game, while the only thing Samuel improved was his jherri-curl, and the only thing he brought to the Mets was his ability to make fans feel sick to their stomachs!

Mr. Sparkle
November 6, 2002
I can't believe I have never before commented on Juan Samuel. That's probably because I have tried to blot him out of my memory banks. I always hated Samuel when he was with the Phillies. He was a pesky player with some power at second and always seemed to wreak havoc against the Mets. I remember the day of the trade, I was at my parents house watching the game while everyone else was outside. I think it was after the game was over that they made the announcement. I was half devastated that they traded Nails and half optimistic that they got this all star second baseman. Deep down I knew it was a bad move but I tried to understand. As we all know this turned out to be arguably one of the worst trades if not the worst trade in Mets history. Samuel was sent to centerfield where he was a joke defensively, not that he was very good at second, and a very soft bat in the line up. Dykstra went onto stardom and we got a preview of Carlos Baerga. This guy is definitely one of the all time worst Mets. He was nothing compared to how he played in Philly. I still shudder, as do many Mets fans, every time I hear his name.

Chris
May 5, 2003
The Mets played the Phillies at the Vet the day the trade happened. I know 'cause I was there with my family. We were stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland at the time and we heard about the trade on in the car on the radio after the game. My 5-year old son burst into tears hearing that Lenny was gone. Still breaks me up to think about it. Baseball people should roast for their lack of understanding of how their "business deals" affect the people that really count - the fans!

This was the start of the Mets' unfathomable effort to turn infielders into centerfielders. Just a few weeks after this deal, the Mets unloaded Mookie and Mazzilli. Juan Samuel couldn't spell "centerfield", let alone play it. What the hell were Frank Cashen and Dave Johnson thinking?

And after this abominable failure, they still tried to make Keith Miller and Howard Johnson center fielders! You gotta be a baseball insider to run the Mets? I don't think so. Baseball insiders have been the bane of the Mets since 1986.

Bob P
May 6, 2003
I will say one thing in defense of Juan Samuel and the Mets front office: the Mets did not make him an outfielder.

Samuel came to the Phillies in 1983 as a second baseman, and he was the Phils' regular 2B from 1984-1988. But he did play three games in the outfield in 1988, and then the Phils went out and got Tommy Herr to be their second baseman prior to the start of the 1989 season. Samuel shifted to CF full time at that point, and in fact, his fielding stats were not too bad. His fielding percentage and range factors were both better than the league average for center fielders in 1989.

Samuel turned out to be a big bust in his half season with the Mets. In hindsight it was a bad deal, but I must say at the time I thought it was OK. I wasn't thrilled with losing another member of the '86 team, but I thought Samuel was a decent player.

He did wind up hanging on in the majors for 16 years until 1998(!), even though he was a part-timer his last seven seasons.

With the Phillies Samuel was always among the NL leaders in doubles, triples, runs scored, extra-base hits, and, yes, strikeouts.

Samuel always had low walk/high strikeout totals, but he did lose his batting skills quickly and at a young age. That leads me to believe that he was probably several years older than he claimed to be, even though I have no proof of that.

Kiwiwriter
February 2, 2004
In 1987, I interviewed a Negro League veteran for my newspaper, and asked him about modern ballplayers. He talked about his favorites, and his least favorites. One of his least favorites was Juan Samuel. He said that Samuel could run, but had a poor batting eye and no defensive abilities. I remembered that.

When Samuel came to the Mets, I'd watch a fly ball to go left and Samuel streak off in pursuit of it -- to right.

DavidC
July 7, 2005
If my memory serves me correct, it was Juan Samuel who poked a liner to Darryl Strawberry on May 11, 1985 with Darryl hurting his wrist on that play, ending up costing the Mets at least a Division Championship that year. Another bad memory about Juan Samuel, I must say...

Russell Heim
September 23, 2005
I think the only positive contribution Juan Samuel made to the Mets (besides leaving) was in a fight against the Reds. It started when one of the Nasty Boys (either Charlton or Dibble) hit Tim Teufel. In the midst of the on-the-field brawl that erupted, I saw Juan Samuel drop kick one of the Reds players. An interesting aside, Pete Rose was still managing the Reds and he didn't leave the dugout. This was a few weeks before his suspension. I got a big laugh in the Shea Stadium men's room after the game when I wondered aloud if Pete had bet ten bucks on the Mets to win the fight.

Jonathan Stern
February 1, 2006
Can you believe it? Samuel is now the new manager of the Binghamtom Mets. I guess everyone is entitled to a second chance, but could Samuel have turned off Mets Country more than he did in 1989? Amazin'.

Mr. Sparkle
February 1, 2006
I really like when the Mets hire ex Met players to manage in the minors but did they have to hire Juan Samuel in Binghamton? One of the most hated Mets of all time by just about every Met fan out there, and they give him the job over Wally Backman. Does this mean he could possibly manage at Shea some day? Has the whole world gone INSANE?

DavidC
February 8, 2006
Juan Samuel back with the Mets organization !? Well, there must a reason for hiring him, and certainly his last connection with the Met organization could not have helped him at all, which suggests to me that he has turned into a new man now, at least different from what we remember in 1989.

So, for the time being, I would not mind Juan Samuel back at Shea down the road, as long as he would not go out of his mind and try to make a comeback to take over Carlos Beltran's position.

Brian Carter
August 20, 2006
I remember I was ten years old when I heard about the trade. It felt like a lighting bolt went through my heart. I couldn't watch the Mets for two months. I was shocked. It felt like a ghost came out of nowhere and took a swing at my knees with a bat. I really liked Lenny Dyskstra. We should have a Juan Samuel baseball card demolition night, where we can burn his baseball cards on the field. I don't care if it's 2006, that trade still bothers me.

Antsal
March 16, 2007
I remember the day the Mets got Juan Samuel and thought it was a fair trade. I guess the Mets kinda got the last laugh. Sure Dykstra had a couple of good years with the Phillies but the last three years of Dykstra's Phillies career totaled 186 games and the Phillies paid him $18 Million for those three self-induced painful years.

Not sure if the Mets got the "best player in the National League" that day as Davey called him but they certainly got the best player in THAT trade. Roger McDowell's 12-17 record for the Phillies didn't get the Phillies anywhere either.

Career Hits: Samuel 1,600 Dykstra 1,298.

Diamond Dave
March 31, 2007
Juan Samuel as a Met was a bad deal he was in decline and Phillies knew it. I as at Shea for his Met Home debut. I loved Lenny but of course wanted Juan to do well since he was now going to play every day. He was either 0-3 or 0-4 that Tuesday afternoon day game an omen of things to come. Another in a long line of Mets deals when they traded for or signed a former "star" past his prime. Mets got hosed on that Samuel deal: Lenny was dealt with Roger and led them to the SERIES with 3 great years for Phillies, so who cares if JS had 1600 career hits? Samuel stunk for the Mets. Case closed.

Feat Fan
March 31, 2007
Typical of the Mets, got him on the decline and gave up on Dykstra (and his bad habits) who was on the up climb. This guy was some kind of talent early on: speed, power, aggressive and appeared to be heading for a long and distinguished career. Bounced around a bit but did author a long career and better than average numbers.

Mr. Sparkle
March 31, 2007
Come on! Juan Samuel was horrible as a Met. His best days were behind him. Yes, Dykstra's career ended prematurely and he had injuries but he was a stud in Phillie for a good 3 years. And McDowell was a relief pitcher where wins and losses are not as important as saves and holds. You can't compare career stats of Samuel and Dykstra to defend this horrible trade.

Isreal1973
October 15, 2007
Philly fan here. I remember the day the trade was announced. I was disappointed at first till I heard who we would be getting in return! Dykstra and McDowell!?? I liked Juan but he had long since stopped being productive. I hated Dykstra with a passion until he came to Philly. Dykstra always seemed to murder the Phils and now he was ours!

I always thought Sammy would have been better had he been kept at second base. It was somebody's brilliant idea to move him to the outfield.

metfan_ny
May 17, 2008
The trade was not Samuel's fault; it was McIlveyne's.

I was at the Reds game and here is how it went down. After Teufel charged the mound and the brawl ensued, something took place between Samuel and Dibble in the crowd. When the fight broke up, Dibble and Samuel were jawing at each other from across the diamond. Dibble then charged Samuel. Samuel gave him a couple of juke moves and put his cleat in Dibble's chest. The benches proceeded to clear again.

PS - It was Strawberry in the hallway calling out Dibble.

David
July 22, 2008
I am a native New Yorker, now transplanted in Boston. However, I am will always be a die hard Mets Fan. Tonight, while watching the Sox/Rays game that developed into a bench clearing brawl, I started thinking about those two Met games in '89 against the Reds right before the All-Star break that culminated in the Juan Samuel homer off of Dibble. At first I couldn't remember the year, so I did a wild card Yahoo search and came across the UltimateMets BB and lo and behold, there were these posts about Samuel and that game. Unbelievable! I was a HUGE Dykstra fan. Was at his last home game as a Met. (He caught a ball in CF horizontal, then was later thrown out of the game.) And likewise was stunned when the announcement of the Samuel trade was made after the Phillies game. I remember feeling like that sucker who picked door #2 on Let's Make a Deal and hears "WAAAA WAAAA" as the door opens on a Goat. Amazing to learn after all these years that many others had the same reaction, and as many still remember it so vividly.

Robert Ford
May 16, 2010
Growing up as a Mets fan in the Bronx, I disliked the trade as much as most of you did, although I was at a Mets game against the Cubs that Juan won with a ninth- inning single.

However, I was the radio broadcaster for the Binghamton Mets from 2005-2008 and got to know Samuel quite well when he managed Binghamton in 2006. He's a fantastic baseball man and a great guy. His players that season would've run through a wall for him and he commanded everyone's respect. One of the most impressive men I've met in the game.

Of course, being a Mets fan, I had to ask Sammy about the trade. Before the '89 season, Phillies GM Lee Thomas approached him and asked if he would move to center because the Phillies had a chance to get Tommy Herr to play second. Samuel agreed because he wanted to stay with the Phillies and playing the outfield was the way to do that (or so he thought). He'd just bought a house in South Jersey that off-season. So, you can imagine how betrayed he felt when the Phillies traded him to the Mets during the '89 season. Those who say Samuel seemed like he never wanted to be in New York are half-right. After all, this was a guy who had the rug swept out from under him by the Phillies.

After '89 ended, Sammy told the Mets he wanted to be traded unless he could move back to second base. Since Greg Jefferies was in the fold, the Mets chose the former option and sent him to the Dodgers, where he moved back to second and was an NL All-Star in 1991.

I now work in sports radio in Kansas City and still keep in touch with Sammy. He's the 3B coach for the Orioles and, whenever Baltimore's in town, we catch up. Yes, it was an awful trade by the Mets, but Sammy is one of my favorite people in baseball.

Michael Salvatore
May 6, 2019
I will always remember Mike Francesca saying the Mets had to make that trade. Never paid any attention to him after that.








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