Saturday, June 28, 2008

Juan Samuel: Wall of Fame Worthy?


I heard the announcement today that Juan Samuel would be the 2008 inductee to the Phillies Wall of Fame.

Yes, THAT Juan Samuel.

I was a big fan of Juan Samuel in his heyday. He was a graceful, energetic guy, and who could forget the Jheri curls? But let's be real here... does a guy that played only 4 years in Philly count as a Wall of Famer? What if I tallied off these stats as a Philly:

-Samuel hit .263
-He averaged about 150 strikeouts per year (he led the league from 1984-1987 in this category)
-He was perennially at the top or near the top of the NL in outs

Ok, perhaps I'm being a little harsh and I don't mean this to be a bash session, but my point is, does Samuel belong up there with the likes of:

Mike Schmidt (Hall of Famer)
Robin Roberts (Hall of Famer)
Steve Carlton (Hall of Famer)

???

I humbly submit that he does not. Samuel had two stellar seasons (1984 and 1987) in which he earned a few votes for having MVP-type numbers, but he's not Wall of Fame material in my personal opinion.

That said, he was a solid all around second baseman and, from what I hear, a good all around guy.

So since the decision is already made, I'll say Congrats Juan Samuel... thanks for your contributions in Philly and best of luck with your coaching career.

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