On June 18, 1989 The Phillies trade second baseman Juan Samuel to the Mets for outfielder Lenny Dykstra, and Roger McDowell, and a player to be named later, that will be minor league pitcher Tom Edens. New York’s experiment to turn their new infielder into a center fielder will fail miserably. He will play only 86 games with New York while ‘Nails’ will go on to have two outstanding seasons in 1990 & 1993 for the Phillies, leading the league in hits both seasons.
He was a key player in Philadelphia’s National League championship in 1993. He lead the lead in runs, hits, walks and had a Phillies record with 773 plate apperances, which will later get topped by Jimmy Rollins in 2007. He was also being selected as the runner-up for the Most Valuable Player Award to Barry Bonds.
