Intro

One of the finest defensive second baseman in baseball in the 1970s and 1980s, Manny Trillo was a four-time All-Star. The popular Venezuelan was a light-hitter most of his career, but in the 1980 NLCS he hit .381 with eight hits and four RBI to pace the Phillies past the Astros. He won three Gold Glove Awards and was noted for his powerful throwing arm and ability to turn the double play. His skill with the leather allowed him to play 17 seasons in the big leagues and accumulate more than 1,500 hits.

Quotes About

"It's like we've been together for 10 years, he's so easy to play with." — Shawon Dunston in 1986

Quotes From

"They always ask me 'Why do I play so smooth?' 'Why do I always look like I don't want to play?" I say, 'That's just the way I play. You never see me go slow for a ball."

Best Season

In the regular season, Trillo hit a career-best .292 with a career-high 41 extra-base hits. He made just 11 errors and fielded .987 at second base. In the playoffs against the Astros, he hit .381 and won the ALCS MVP Award. In Game Five of the World Series against the Royals, Trillo hit a sharp grounder off Dan Quisenberry's glove in the ninth inning to drive in the game-winning run.

Factoid 1

All-Star second baseman Manny Trillo was originally signed as a catcher.

Notes

The 1977 Cubs had the worst second-half collapse in baseball history (based on winning percentage). The team was 51-30 in the first half, and 30-51 after. They limped to a fourth-place finish, 20 games behind the Phillies. At the mid-way point, the Cubs had held a four-game advantage. Trillo was one of the big reasons the Cubs had such a good first-half. He batted .392 in May with a very un-Trillo-like .618 slugging percentage. But Manny batted just .223 after June 30th, with just seven extra-base hits, doing his part to contribute to the Chicago swan dive.