He might have the job for just a few games, but Juan Samuel will still leave his mark on the Orioles as interim manager, those who know him say. He's a baseball lifer with an infectious work ethic, a persuasive style and a cunning knack for getting things done his way.
"This is a really good fit for Sammy," said former Oriole Mickey Tettleton, who played with Samuel in Detroit in 1994. "He always carried himself in a leadership role. Sammy's players will work hard, like he did, and they will play the game right."
The new manager grew up in the Dominican Republic with a passion for the game, playing stickball in the streets and fashioning catchers' masks from rusty scrap metal. One of seven children in a single-parent home, Samuel was earning about $20 a week as a cloth cutter in a pants factory when signed by Philadelphia in 1980.
That passion has never left him. As a rookie second baseman in 1984, he hit the ground running, stealing 72 bases for the Phillies. The shoes he wore that season are in the Hall of Fame. Once, after getting picked off first base, Samuel cursed at himself in Spanish — and was ejected by the umpire, who thought the profanity was directed at him.
Aggressive to a fault as a player, Samuel will accept no less from his Orioles charges.
"I played the game aggressive[ly]. I would like to manage the same way," he said. "Aggressive, take chances, and that's what I will try to do. I expect those guys to come out there with some energy; I expect those guys to compete. That's the No. 1 thing for me. If you compete, and regardless of the outcome, you go home feeling good. Let's go out there and compete. Each pitch, each at-bat. … I would expect these guys to come out on the field with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of fire, and I think fans appreciate that. That's what I want to tell the fans, expect that from them — the enthusiasm, the hustle, the preparation."
That's what others saw from Samuel.
"Live each day as if it is your last. That's the way he plays the game," former Orioles scout Joe McIlvaine once said.
Samuel's work ethic always stood out.
"Sammy was a smart player who always, always worked hard at his trade," said Dave Johnson, the onetime Orioles skipper who managed Samuel with the New York Mets in 1989. "I like him a lot, and I wish him well. It's painful to watch the Orioles on TV now. I hope Sammy does a great job."
Sparky Anderson went a step further.
"I'll guarantee you that Baltimore will wake up, three or four years from now, saying, 'We made a good choice here,'" said Anderson, a Hall of Famer who managed Samuel with the Detroit Tigers in 1994-1995. "Sammy's as honest a human being as there is. I'll bet everything I've got on the table that his career [as a manager] is unbelievable."
That's high praise for Samuel, 49, whose only managing experience is having run Binghamton (N.Y.), the Mets' Class AA farm team, in 2006. That club lost 21 of 30 games in May and had the worst record in the Eastern League on June 1.
Soon after, Samuel addressed his players in a team meeting, and things changed. Binghamton reeled off 11 straight victories, went 22-5 in July and climbed to .500 by season's end.
"We were diligent about getting better, and Juan was the one leading the charge," said Mark Brewer, Binghamton's pitching coach. "At first, things were a little erratic for him that year. He's a hard-nosed guy who had to get his feet wet. But Juan understands people. Common sense is what he brings to the table.
"He would sit players down and pump them up without raising his voice. He brings out the best in you because you can't say no to the guy," Brewer said. "Juan could sell ice cubes to Eskimos — and make them believe that they need them."
Samuel has improved his English greatly since he started with the Phillies. He spoke so little English then that he ordered the same meal, fried chicken, off a fast-food menu each day for more than a month.
Even then, with 16 big-league seasons ahead, Samuel showed an appetite for learning.
"He never refused to learn, and he never refused to work," said Tony Taylor, 75, a former Phillies star who coached Samuel in the minors. "So he got the Orioles' job? I give him big kiss."
Though one of the Phillies' younger players, Samuel displayed a maturity beyond his years, said Rick Schu, a former Orioles third baseman who played with him in Philadelphia from 1984 to 1987.
"Sammy was as even-keeled as they come," Schu said. "He was exciting, for sure. He could run like the wind, and he had a cannon for an arm. But for all of that, he was quiet. And when he spoke, you listened. He had this presence about him."
But Samuel has also shown his ire at times. In 2000, while a Detroit coach, he served a 10-game suspension for his part in a bench-clearing brawl between the Tigers and Chicago White Sox. In 1989, while playing for the Mets, he got into a fracas with Cincinnati pitcher Norm Charlton, who had Samuel by 4 inches and 25 pounds.
Off the field, there was an episode in 1990 when Samuel and Alfredo Griffin, his Los Angeles Dodgers teammate, were arrested after a game in Pittsburgh and charged with assaulting a bartender in a popular nightspot. The players spent the night in jail, after which Samuel went on a four-game hitting spree. The charges were later dropped. "It might be the sort of thing that could help — once," he mused later.
Samuel spent the bulk of his coaching career (seven years) in Detroit where, in 1998-1999, he served on the staff of then-manager Larry Parrish.
"He was a good coach for me," said Parrish, now manager of the Tigers' Toledo farm club. "Will he do a good job with the Orioles? I haven't watched Baltimore play, but judging from its record, he doesn't have a ton of pressure on him going in."
At the least, Parrish said, Samuel's work ethic will rub off on his players.
Still, though, in the dugout, Samuel has had an inauspicious start as interim manager. The Orioles lost Friday night 11-0 to the Red Sox at Camden Yards and were defeated Saturday night 8-2 by the Sox.
In 1996, toward the end of his playing career in Toronto, Samuel said, "We're getting paid a lot of money to do something I used to do for free. Before, when I didn't get paid any money, I would play hard all day long in the parks.
"If you can't run hard to first base four times a game, there's something wrong with you."
Getting the opportunity to manage the Orioles has come at the expense of Dave Trembley, someone he considers a friend, so Samuel isn't taking the responsibility lightly.
"I thank God this was the right time for me," he said.
Baltimore Sun reporter Dan Connolly contributed to this article.
Juan Samuel
Full name: Juan Milton Samuel
Born: Dec. 9, 1960 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
Coaching experience: He was in his fourth season on the Orioles staff, coaching third base and working with the team's infielders. Spent 2006 as manager of the Double-A Binghamton Mets. Led Binghamton to a second-place finish in the Eastern League in 2006 and had a 70-70 record in his first season as a manager. Before that, he coached seven years with the Detroit Tigers.
Playing experience: Three-time All-Star ( National League) who played 16 seasons in the majors with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers and Toronto Blue Jays. ... Was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Phillies on April 20, 1980.Had a career average of .259. ...Earned NL Rookie of the Year honors from The Sporting News in 1984, batting .272, leading the league with 19 triples and finishing second with 72 stolen bases...Set a then-NL record with 701 at-bats in '84, also a major league record for a right-handed batter. ...Was called up by the Phillies late in the 1983 season and played against the Orioles in in the World Series that year. ...Is the only player to reach double figures in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases in each of his first four major league seasons...Stole 396 bases in his career. … Was a second baseman most of his career but could play all three other infield positions as well as the outfield.
Personal: Lives in Estero, Fla. ... Has three children: daughters Alexa (6) and Noemy (20) and a son, Samuel (12).
Source: Baltimore Orioles
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by The Baltimore Sun. The Sun Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.