By: Matt Alberston, Historical Columnist 
SABR biographer Lionte Landino perfectly described former Philadelphia Phillie Manny Trillo in his biography of the infielder: "Outstanding defense and strong character can be a short description for Manny Trillo’s career. He was a slick-fielding second baseman who shined with a legendary Philadelphia Phillies team and played a huge part in the first title in almost 100 years of misery in one of the fieriest sports markets in the world." His defensive skills are what fans remember most of him.
Trillo was signed by the Phillies in 1968 and sent to Clearwater, Florida to perfect his craft as a catcher. However, fate intervened when newly appointed short-season Huron manager Dallas Green saw Trillo taking ground balls in the infield and immediately switched Trillo to the infield once he reported to Huron.
In 1969, Trillo was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the Rule 5 Draft and made his major league debut for the World Champion A's in 1973 and appeared in 17 games that season. He was subsequently denied a spot on the World Series roster when Major League Baseball denied Trillo's addition to the roster following a protest by the New York Mets.
Trillo opened the 1974 season as the A's opening day second baseman but was sent down to Triple-A Tuscon after batting poorly in the season's opening month. He returned to the A's in September and was included on the 1974 ALCS roster, appearing in one game and did not appear in the World Series against the Dodgers. After the season ended, Trillo was traded to the Chicago Cubs and inserted as their everyday second baseman.
In the early stages of his career, Trillo struggled with the transition to second base and committed 96 errors in 646 games between 1973 and 1978. He was traded in 1979 to the Phillies in a large deal that included he Greg Gross, and Dave Rader going to the Phillies in exchange for Henry Mack, Derek Botelho, Barry Foote, Jerry Martin, and Ted Sizemore (the Phillies' primary second baseman in 1978).
Despite his history of errors and mediocre offensive skills, Trillo was an immediate improvement over the hodgepodge of players that the Phillies trotted out at second every day in 1978. In 1979, Trillo earned his first of three gold glove awards. In 1980, Trillo completed a career year at the plate with a .292/.334/.412 slash line, posting a 3.4 WAR, while committing only 11 errors. In the postseason, he hit .381 in the NLCS, earning MVP honors, but only hit .217 in the World Series. Despite this, he helped the club win its first world championship.
He had two more productive years with the Phillies before he was traded to the Cleveland Indians in the infamous "5-for-1 trade" which brought Von Hayes to Philadelphia.
Trillo had two spectacular moments in Game 5 of the 1980 NLCS that were crucial in the Phillies victory in what many consider to the be greatest postseason series ever played. In the bottom of the second inning, Astro Craig Reynolds doubled off of Phillies pitcher Marty Bystrom on a hot shot down the first base line; Bake McBride cut the ball off and relayed to Trillo, who spun and fired a dart to catcher Bob Boone just in time to tag out Luis Pujols. Trillo's strong arm was clearly an asset for the club.
Trillo stepped up to the plate amid a Phillies rally in the eighth inning. The Phillies opened the inning down by three runs and faced Nolan Ryan. But miraculously, the Phillies tied the game and chased the future Hall of Famer off the mound. With the game tied and runners on first and second, Trillo lined a ball down the third base line for a two RBI triple, giving the Phillies the lead. The game eventually went to extra innings, with the Phillies prevailing in the 10th.
Trillo was a good role player in his four years in Philadelphia however his .277/.321/.369 slash line and 6.7 WAR are underwhelming considering he's a candidate for the Phillies Wall of Fame. What will boost his numbers is the fact that he was a member of the Phillies' 1980 championship team, but his numbers and minimal service time don't necessarily warrant induction.
