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| Standard Speaker - Hazleton, PA (June 19, 1989) |
Twenty years ago, Juan Samuel was in the lineup and playing center field for the Phillies in a game against the New York Mets. The two-time All Star drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 1st and came around to score before the inning was over in the Phillies 6-5 victory. By the end of the day, Samuel was a member of the team he had just faced, and that wasn't the only trade the Phillies made that day.
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| Standard Speaker - Hazleton, PA (June 19, 1989) |
Although it was reported as a breakup of the team at the time, the two trades on June 18th, 1989 worked out very well for the Phillies. They acquired center fielder Lenny Dykstra and relief pitcher Roger McDowell from the Mets in exchange for Juan Samuel, and on the same day, they traded 1987 Cy Young Award winner Steve Bedrosian to the San Francisco Giants for left handed starter Terry Mulholland, third baseman Charlie Hayes and pitcher Dennis Cook.
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| 1993 Leaf Studio left: Lenny Dykstra - Card #101 / right: Terry Mulholland - Card #10 |
For the short term, Juan Samuel had a disappointing .228/.299/.300 slash line in 86 games for the Mets, and Roger McDowell turned out to be a more effective closer for the Phillies than Steve Bedrosian was for the Giants. However, the real victory was bringing Lenny Dykstra and Terry Mulholland to Philadelphia, both of whom helped lead the Phillies to the World Series four years later.
