Phillies trade Juan Samuel to the Mets for outfielder Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell
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.