Manny Trillo

Manny Trillo
Second baseman
Born: December 25, 1950 (1950-12-25) (age 60) Caripito, Venezuela
Batted: Right	Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 28, 1973 for the Oakland Athletics
Last MLB appearance
May 20, 1989 for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics
Batting average	.263
Hits	1,562
Runs batted in	571
Teams
Oakland Athletics (1973–1974) Chicago Cubs (1975–1978) Philadelphia Phillies (1979–1982) Cleveland Indians (1983) Montreal Expos (1983) San Francisco Giants (1984–1985) Chicago Cubs (1986–1988) Cincinnati Reds (1989)
Career highlights and awards
4× All-Star selection (1977, 1981, 1982, 1983) 2× World Series champion (1974, 1980) 3× Gold Glove Award winner (1979, 1981, 1982) 2× Silver Slugger Award winner (1980, 1981) 1980 NLCS MVP

Jesús Manuel Marcano (Manny) Trillo (born December 25, 1950 in Caripito, Venezuela), also nicknamed "Indio", is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues from 1973 to 1989.^[1] He played most of his career as a second baseman for the Oakland Athletics (1973-1974), Chicago Cubs (1975-1978, 1986-1988), Philadelphia Phillies (1979-1982), Cleveland Indians (1983), Montreal Expos (1983), San Francisco Giants (1984-1985) and the Cincinnati Reds (1989).^[1] He was known as one of the best fielding second basemen of his era with a strong throwing arm.^[2]

Major league career

Originally signed as a catcher by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968, Trillo was converted into a third baseman by his first minor league manager, Dallas Green.^[2][3] In 1969, he was selected by the Oakland Athletics from the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft.^[4] Trillo was converted into a second baseman in 1973 while playing for the Athletics' Triple A team, the Tucson Toros.^[2] He made his Major League debut with Oakland on June 28, 1973 and stayed with the club as the Athletics won the American League Western Division pennant by six games over the Kansas City Royals, then defeated the Baltimore Orioles in the 1973 American League Championship Series.^[5][6]

Trillo had a minor role in a controversial incident during the 1973 World Series against the New York Mets. Athletics' second baseman Mike Andrews committed two errors in a four-run twelfth inning of Game 2, leading to a Mets' victory.^[7] Athletics team owner Charlie Finley attempted to have Andrews waived onto the disabled list in order to activate Trillo into the line up.^[2] Eventually, commissioner Bowie Kuhn ruled the move illegal and, forced Finley to reinstate Andrews for Game 4.^[2]

In April 1974, Trillo played 12 games for the Athletics before being sent back to the minor league Tucson Toros.^[1] He was eventually brought back to the major leagues in September. He appeared in one game of the 1974 American League Championship Series against the Baltimore Orioles, but didn't make any further appearances as the Athletics defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1974 World Series.^[8]

On October 23, 1974, Trillo was traded along with Darold Knowles and Bob Locker to the Chicago Cubs for Billy Williams.^[4][9] Trillo would finish third in the 1975 National League Rookie of the Year Award balloting.^[10] With the Cubs, Trillo developed a reputation for being one of the best fielding second basemen in baseball, earning his first All-Star selection in 1977.^[1][11] Together with Cubs' shortstop Iván DeJesús, he formed one of the best double play combinations in baseball.^[12] He remained with the Cubs for four seasons before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on February 23, 1979 as part of an eight-player trade.^[9] Later that season, Trillo was reunited with his former minor league manager, Dallas Green, who had replaced Danny Ozark as the Phillies' manager. Trillo would win his first Gold Glove Award in 1979.^[13]

Trillo was an integral member of the 1980 world champion Phillies, adding solid defense, while hitting for over a .300 batting average until the middle of September, finishing the season with a career-high .292 average.^[14][15][16] He won the 1980 Silver Slugger Award for second basemen which, is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position.^[17] In the 1980 National League Championship Series against the Houston Astros, he posted a .381 batting average with four runs batted in, and teamed up with Bake McBride in the decisive Game 5 to relay a throw to home plate, cutting off Luis Pujols attempting to score from first base on a double by Craig Reynolds.^[18][19][20] Trillo's performance earned him the League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award.^[21]

In the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, Trillo once again made his mark in Game 5 by making another relay throw to cut off Darrell Porter trying to score in the sixth inning.^[22] He then hit a single with two outs in the ninth inning to drive home the winning run.^[22] The Phillies went on to win Game 6 and claimed the first world championship in the team's history.^[20][23]

1981 would be another good year for Trillo as he was selected as a reserve for the National League All-Star team, and won his second Gold Glove Award and his second consecutive Silver Slugger Award. He was voted to be the starting second baseman for the National League in the 1982 All-Star Game and, set a since-broken major league record for consecutive errorless chances at second base (479), falling two games short of Joe Morgan's record 91-game errorless streak.^[24][25][26]

On December 9, 1982, Trillo was traded to the Cleveland Indians in a multi-player deal.^[9] In 1983, he made his second consecutive start as the All-Star second baseman, this time for the American League.^[1] Trillo would also win his third and final Gold Glove Award in 1983.^[1] He would spend the next six seasons with several teams, serving as a utility player before ending his career in 1989 with the Cincinnati Reds.^[1]

Career statistics

In a 17 year career, Trillo played in 1780 games, accumulating 1562 hits in 5950 at bats for a .263 career batting average along with 61 home runs and 571 runs batted in.^[1] He ended his career with a .981 fielding percentage.^[1] A four-time All-Star, Trillo was a three-time Gold Glove winner and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner.^[1][27][28] He led National League second basemen four times in assists, three times in range factor and twice in putouts.^[1] In 2007, Trillo was inducted into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame.^[29]

G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	R	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	SH	SF	HBP	AVG	OBP	SLG
1780	5950	1562	239	33	61	598	571	452	35	742	88	49	34	.263	.316	.345

See also

• List of players from Venezuela in Major League Baseball
• List of Gold Glove Award winners at second base
• List of Silver Slugger Award winners at second base

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Manny Trillo at Baseball Reference
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Manny Trillo: He's Unsung But Not Under-rated!, by Jayson Stark, Baseball Digest, June 1981, Vol. 40, No. 6, ISSN 0005-609X
3. ^ How The Phils Let Trillo Get Away, by Ritchie Ashburn, Baseball Digest, April 1978, Vol. 37, No. 4, ISSN 0005-609X
4. ^ ^{a b} http://armchairgm.wikia.com
5. ^ 1973 American League standings at Baseball Reference
6. ^ 1973 American League Championship Series at Baseball Reference
7. ^ 1973 World Series Game 2 box score at Baseball Reference
8. ^ 1974 World Series at Baseball Reference
9. ^ ^{a b c} Manny Trillo Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
10. ^ 1975 Rookie of the Year Award voting results at Baseball Reference
11. ^ The Cubs' New Latin Connection, by George Vass, Baseball Digest, August 1977, Vol. 36, No. 8, ISSN 0005-609X
12. ^ Baseball Digest, February 1981, Vol. 40, No. 2, ISSN 0005-609X
13. ^ National League Gold Glove Award winners at Baseball Reference
14. ^ Manny Trillo 1980 Batting Log at Baseball Reference
15. ^ He's The Phillies Fillip, by Bruce Newman, Sports Illustrated, May 28, 1979
16. ^ He's Hot, But Not A Hot Dog, by Anthony Cotton, Sports Illustrated, September 8, 1980
17. ^ 1980 National League Silver Slugger Award winners at Baseball Reference
18. ^ 1980 NLCS Game 5 box score at Baseball Reference
19. ^ 1980 NLCS at Baseball Reference
20. ^ ^{a b} Phillies Capture Club's First World Series Title, by Joe O'Loughlin, Baseball Digest, October 2000, Vol. 59, No. 10, ISSN 0005-609X
21. ^ NLCS MVP Award winners at Baseball Reference
22. ^ ^{a b} 1980 World Series Game 5 box score at Baseball Reference
23. ^ 1980 World Series at Baseball Reference
24. ^ The Game I'll Never Forget, by Manny Trillo as told to George Vass, Baseball Digest, September 1986, Vol. 45, No. 9, ISSN 0005-609X
25. ^ 1982 Gold Glove Award winners at Baseball Reference
26. ^ www.baseballlibrary.com
27. ^ Manny Trillo at Baseball Almanac
28. ^ Manny Trillo at Baseball Cube
29. ^ www.museodebeisbol.org

External links

• The Cubs' New Latin Connection, by George Vass, Baseball Digest, August 1977
• How The Phils Let Trillo Get Away, by Ritchie Ashburn, Baseball Digest, April 1978
• He's Hot, But Not A Hot Dog, by Anthony Cotton, Sports Illustrated, September 8, 1980
• 1980 NLCS in Sports Illustrated, October 20, 1980
• Manny Trillo: He's Unsung But Not Under-rated!, by Jayson Stark, Baseball Digest, June 1981
• The Game I'll Never Forget, by Manny Trillo as told to George Vass, Baseball Digest, September 1986

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube

Preceded by Willie Stargell

National League Championship Series MVP 1980

Succeeded by Burt Hooton

Persondata
Name	Trillo, Manny
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 25, 1950
Place of birth	Caripito, Venezuela
Date of death
Place of death