Sam Fuld: The birth of a legend
When the Tampa Bay Rays shipped Matt Garza to Chicago this offseason, they robbed the Cubs of a bounty of prospects. On top of prying away Chicago’s best pitching prospect and Pitcher of the Year Chris Archer, the Rays also snagged slick-fielding Korean shortstop Hak-Ju Lee, who was ranked as the Cubs’ fourth-best prospect by Baseball America.
Add in Brandon Guyer, the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year and Robinson Chirinos, an offensive-minded catcher close to being Major League-ready, and it really is an unbelievable haul.
Under the radar, another player was thrown into that deal, too: Sam Fuld.
As a 29-year-old outfielder, Fuld certainly wasn’t an attractive name when reports of the trade broke. He had played just 98 Major League games in parts of three seasons, managing just nine extra-base hits, a .252 batting average and a .344 slugging percentage.
With a high-priced Major League outfield, the Cubs were not in a position to give Fuld a chance to play every day, so instead they forced him into stints with their Triple-A club for four straight seasons, exhausting all of his minor league options in the process.
Without the financial resources to resign four-time All-Star left fielder Carl Crawford, a hole was created in the Rays’ outfield, since Crawford was set to test the free-agent market. The Rays then made perhaps the biggest splash of the offseason signing both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon to be their left fielder and designated hitter, respectively.
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When Ramirez unexpectedly retired from baseball following a failed drug test near the beginning of the season, though, the hole that the Rays thought they had filled in left field opened again.
They already had a good outfield prospect waiting in Triple-A in Desmond Jennings, but since Fuld was out of options, they were in a position to leave him on the Major League roster to start the season and see what he could do in an everyday role.
Not only were the Rays probably not expecting much out of Fuld, they definitely weren’t expecting the kind of production he has put up thus far.
In Fuld’s first 21 games with the Rays this season, he went 28-for-80 at the plate (.350) with seven doubles, two triples, and a home run. Add in nine walks over that span as well, and he’s managed a staggering .936 OPS.
Now, it’s a small sample size and unlikely that Fuld would be able to manage numbers like those for an entire season, but even demonstrating that he has the ability to post numbers like those has the Rays thinking that they just might have found the perfect, albeit unexpected replacement for Crawford.
Over that same span last year, Crawford went 25-for-80 (.313), with seven doubles as well, one triple and two home runs. Like Fuld, he also had nine walks, which contributed to his .874 OPS. Crawford also struck out 14 times over that span, whereas Fuld only had 10.
While Crawford was solid at the plate overall, the main element of his game was his speed once he was on the base paths, going 7-for-10 (70%) in stolen base attempts in April of last year.
Fuld, generously listed at 5’10” and 180 pounds, went 10-for-13 (77%) in stolen base attempts last month, once again making a statement that he very well may be more than capable of successfully replacing Crawford.
Add in Fuld’s diving catches in almost every park he goes to, his strong work ethic, and positive clubhouse presence, and it’s easy to see why he has made the impression that he has with the Tampa Bay Rays organization. The franchise even made plans to replace Manny Ramirez bobblehead day on May 29 with Sam Fuld superhero cape night instead.
It’s a feel good, underdog story that countless fans have come to support in recent weeks, and the support has already extended over to Twitter where fans have been making Chuck Norris-type comments as a result of “The Legend of Sam Fuld”.
The warning track is there to let the wall know when Sam Fuld gets close.
Ramirez retired shortly after testing positive for Sam Fuld in his blood stream.
Sam Adams offered Sam Fuld his brewery just so he would leave Boston. He politely declined.
Certainly entertaining, one can only hope that Fuld continues to pack his offensive punch in the leadoff spot in the lineup, but his strong defense and above-average arm should be enough to have him entrenched in left field for the majority of the season.
Who knows, The Legend of Sam Fuld could even snag a Gold Glove at the end of the season.
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