Willie Mays was a great player, arguably the greatest all around player in history. According to Leo Durocher, a great player can hit, hit with power, throw, field, and run. Mays could do that and more. He was full of joy and a joy to watch.
He was the total package. He gave the game power and grace. Had it not been for two seasons in the army, he might have passed Ruth before Aaron. He gave us “The Catch” that helped the Giants win a World Series.
The game and each team needs players like him.
Teams also need journeymen players. The players who aren't the big stars, but get the job done and have enough skills to allow them to stick around and move from team to team for several years.
One such player was Manny Trillo. He played 17 seasons with eight different teams. His career stats were certainly not Hall of Fame stuff.
He had four All Star appearances and won Gold Gloves three times. Four times a team he played on went to the post season. Twice they won the World Series. There have been many such players in baseball. Guys who are good enough to make the bigs and good enough to stick around long enough that teams find a need for them to fill. Sometimes they shine on the big stage of the playoffs like Ben Zobrist who was the World Series MVP for the Cubs in 2016. Trillo was the MVP in the National League Championship for the Phillies in 1980, batting .381 for the series.
He fell to .215 for the World Series that year. Still, without him, the Phillies might not have even got to the post season that year let alone win the whole thing. Such is the life of the journeyman player.
They play in the shadow of great players like Mays. Among Trillo’s Phillies World Series teammates were Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, and Steve Carlton. Without the journeyman, the stars might shine but never win.
Sometimes journeymen become fan favorites and part of a team’s lore. Sometimes they go unheralded. Sometimes they just are there, part of the game.
Manny Trillo played four seasons with the Cubs before going to the Phillies. From Philadelphia he went to Cleveland Montreal and San Francisco. He then returned to the Cubs before a final season with the Reds.
Trillo holds a special place in my love of the game. It wasn’t a big hit or a great play. It was a simple toss.
He was with the Giants at the time, and they were playing an away game at Wrigley. It was a day game, and my son’s first baseball game. We arrived at the park while the Giants were taking batting and fielding practice.
Trillo was in the outfield grass fielding grounders and fly balls, just warming up for the game. We were standing behind the bricks at what used to be the left field bullpen. I yelled, “Hey Manny.” He turned to look at me and I point to my son and said, “It’s his first game.” He walked closer toward us and smiled at my son and tossed him a ball.
Such is the stuff journeymen are made of.