Sam Fuld

Samuel Babson Fuld (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current executive for the Philadelphia Phillies organization of Major League Baseball (MLB), where he most recently served as the team's general manager. He played eight seasons in MLB for the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics, and Minnesota Twins.

He began his baseball career by twice batting .600 in high school, during which time Baseball America ranked him 19th in the country. Fuld played college baseball at Stanford University. There, he was a two-time All-American, set the school record for career runs scored, and established the College World Series record for career hits.

Fuld was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 2004 Major League Baseball draft. He was an All Star two years later in the Florida State League. A year after that, Fuld was voted the Most Valuable Player in the Arizona Fall League. In the minor leagues—as a result of his defensive play—he was referred to as "a crash test dummy with a death wish", a "human wrecking ball act", a "wall magnet", and a "manager's dream and a trainer's worst nightmare".

Fuld made his major league debut with the Cubs in 2007. He became a fan favorite for his defense and his tendency to run into outfield walls while making catches. Fuld batted .299 in his longest stint with the Cubs, but appeared only in late-season call-ups over three years. After the 2010 season, he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Fuld made the Rays' 2011 opening day roster, and won the jobs of starting left fielder and leadoff hitter by mid-April. Due to early-season heroics, including a "Superman-esque" catch, he was dubbed "Superman", "Super Sam", and "The Legendary Sam Fuld". Fuld's catch was put to Superman-theme music in a YouTube video, and tweets about him went viral. In late April, Fuld led the American League (AL) in both batting average and steals. He played with the Rays through 2013. In 2014–2015, Fuld played for the Oakland A's (for two stints) and Minnesota Twins.

Fuld played center field and batted lead-off for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Early life Fuld was born in Durham, New Hampshire. His father is Jewish and his mother is Catholic, and he has said that he was "kind of raised celebrating both" religions' holidays. He weighed at birth." He is the son of Kenneth Fuld, former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Professor of Psychology at the University of New Hampshire, and Amanda Merrill, a former New Hampshire State Senator. He is also a second cousin, once removed, of former Lehman Brothers CEO Dick Fuld.

He got his start playing baseball hitting plastic wiffle balls pitched by his grandmother when he was three years old. As a young child, Fuld carried around a copy of The Complete Baseball Handbook instead of a security blanket. Because of the climate, the league played a short baseball season, and some of the games were played as it snowed. Fuld batted .613 as a freshman, and .489 as a sophomore with 11 steals. He led his club to a league title as a junior in 1999, as he batted .600 with 9 steals. As a senior, he hit .550 with 6 homers, 12 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases. In addition he was a four-time Central New England Prep School Baseball League All-Conference player. |source=— Fuld Ninety-four colleges approached Fuld after high school, and he chose to attend Stanford University. He was an economics major there, graduating in 2004 with a 3.15 grade point average. He was a two-time All-American and a four-year starter in center field for the Cardinal, playing alongside future major leaguers Carlos Quentin and Jed Lowrie.

In 2001, as a freshman, he batted .357 as he established himself as the team's leadoff hitter. Fuld was fifth in the Pacific-10 (Pac-10) conference in runs scored (56), sixth in walks (32), and ninth in hits (81). In the post-season he hit .596. He earned NCBWA Third Team All-American honors, and was named a Baseball America Second Team Freshman All-American, All-College World Series, All-NCAA Regional, All-Pac-10, and a Collegiate Baseball Honorable Mention Freshman All-American. Fuld also led the conference in total bases (162), was third in runs scored (67) and doubles (20), and fifth in triples (4). He was named a First-Team (ABCA, Baseball America, Baseball Weekly) and Third-Team (Collegiate Baseball, NCBWA) All-American. He was also named a Jewish Sports Review College Baseball First Team All-American, along with future major leaguers Craig Breslow and Adam Greenberg. In addition, Fuld earned the Stanford Jack Shepard Memorial Award and Come Through Award. He batted .421 with two homers in four CWS games, earning a spot on the All-College World Series Team for the second straight year. And commenting on his defense, Stanford coach Mark Marquess said: "If it's in the ballpark, he's going to catch it. He's the premier center fielder in college baseball."

Fuld was drafted in the 24th round (703rd overall) of the 2003 draft by the Chicago Cubs, but did not sign. Marquess thought that Fuld was drafted relatively late because of his size. At 5 ft 10 in, he is not as tall as most major league outfielders. But Fuld said of the Cubs' bid: "It was a generous offer. It was a tough choice."

Before the 2004 season, Fuld was named a First-Team (NCBWA), Second-Team (Louisville Slugger), and Third Team (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball) Pre-season All-American, and an Honorable Mention Pac-10 All-Academic. For the season, he received Honorable Mention to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team and All-Conference Team

When he became Stanford's and the Pac-10's all-time leader in runs scored (268), Fuld said: "It means a lot to break the record. Obviously, a record like that is more of a tribute to the teammates I've had over the last four years." When he graduated from Stanford, he ranked among the school's all-time top 10 in hits (353; # 2), triples (16; # 3T), and doubles (58; # 6T). The Cubs drafted him for a second time, in the 10th round (306th overall) of the 2004 draft, and this time Fuld signed, for a $25,000 signing bonus. When he made it to the major leagues, he became the 78th former Stanford Cardinal to do so. During the baseball off-season, Fuld returned to Stanford to pursue a master's degree in statistics. "I was one of their reporters, which meant that I looked at game video and plotted the 'TVL'–type, velocity, and location–of every pitch", Fuld said. "They have this grid where you click on exactly where the ball crosses the plate. Play the tape, pause, and repeat."

Fuld batted .300 with a .378 OBP and 22 steals in 353 at bats for the High-A Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League in 2006, but he missed part of the season with a hip injury. He had surgery for a sports hernia in the off-season. He was named to the league All-Star team.

In 2007, Fuld batted .291 with a .371 on-base percentage, in 282 at bats, as he began the season with the Tennessee Smokies in the Double-A Southern League. "He knows how to play the game, when to take a pitch, when to work the count, and when to go ahead and swing away and juice the ball", said his Tennessee manager, Pat Listach. "He's strong enough that he can hit the ball out of the yard occasionally. He's a gap, line drive type hitter." "He's a very intelligent player", added Listach. In August, Fuld was promoted to the Iowa Cubs in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. There, he batted .269, with a .397 on-base percentage.

Fuld played for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League in the Fall of 2007. On October 30, he was named AFL Player of the Week, after hitting .526. In 29 games with the Solar Sox, Fuld led the league in batting average (.402), hits (43), doubles (11), extra-base hits (16), total bases (67), obp (.492), slugging percentage (.626), and OPS (1.118), and was 3rd in the league in runs (20) and walks (17), 4th in stolen bases (10), and 5th in triples (2). He batted .462 with runners in scoring position, and .500 against lefties. He also was named to the AFL Top Prospects Team.

Fuld also won the Dernell Stenson Award for Leadership, becoming the first player to win both awards. He donated the money he raised in an auction to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. "This kid plays the game like it's supposed to be played", said Mesa Solar Sox manager Dave Clark. |source=— Matt Johnson, trainer for the Iowa Cubs In 2008, Fuld started the season with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. There, due to his style of defensive play, he was referred to as "a crash test dummy with a death wish", a "human wrecking ball act", a "wall magnet", and a "manager's dream and a trainer's worst nightmare."

Fuld had a "big winter" playing winter ball in Venezuela on the Tigres de Aragua, who he helped lead to a championship. He hit leadoff for Aragua, while batting .322 with 5 triples (leading the league), 36 walks and 43 runs (2nd), 16 doubles (5th), a .425 on-base percentage (7th), and a .938 OPS (8th). For his 2008–09 winter performance, including walking nearly twice as much as he struck out, he was elected to the Baseball America All Winter League Team.

Fuld began 2009 at Iowa, and hit .286 with 20 stolen bases and 8 triples in 73 games, including .326 versus left-handed pitchers, primarily playing center field until he was called up on June 30. He walked 32 times compared to 22 strikeouts in 319 plate appearances, and had a .309 batting average with runners in scoring position.

Major leagues

Chicago Cubs

2007 In September 2007, the Chicago Cubs called Fuld up to the major league team. He was the 37th ballplayer from New Hampshire to make it to the major leagues. "I have so much respect for players like (Cubs first baseman) Derrek Lee", Fuld said. "They're great players. But to meet them and actually play with them and contribute and help them win is kind of a surreal experience. It doesn't seem too long ago that I was going to Fenway (Park in Boston) and idolizing these guys. I feel like a fan at times. I have to remind myself I'm a player."

That month he was "forced" to sing Stanford's fight song on the team bus, as part of his rookie treatment. Later in the month, he was hazed after a game—made to walk from the park in Cincinnati to the team's downtown hotel in a Batgirl getup, accompanied by Félix Pie in pink baby pajamas, Carmen Pignatiello (as Supergirl), and Kevin Hart (as Wonder Woman). After peeking at his outfit, before he had to don it, Fuld said: "I think it was Batgirl. I was actually looking forward to it, believe it or not. [I didn't try it on] I'm pretty sure I would've looked good in it. Black's my color. I never did the frat thing in college, so this would kind of be like that." In mid-September, as manager Lou Piniella had still not given Fuld an at bat, someone on the team hung a "Moonlight Graham" sign in Fuld's locker.

Against the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 22, 2007, playing right field as a defensive replacement, Fuld raced back and made a "spectacular", "daredevil", catch just left of the 368-foot-marker in right-center field at Wrigley Field, slamming into the ivy-covered brick wall and robbing the Pirates' Nyjer Morgan of extra bases. Fuld then bounced off the bricks and threw the ball to first base, doubling off a Pirates baserunner (see video of Fuld catch and throw to first). "That was amazing", said Fuld. "They were going crazy." General Manager Jim Hendry said: "That's as good a play as I've seen by a Cubs player at Wrigley Field since I've been here." The play later made ESPN on Baseball Tonight as the # 1 web gem of the day. After the season, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune cited it as the Cubs' "Play of the Year." Many Cub fans refer to it as: "The Catch." Hendry observed: "[Fuld] can run. He's a tremendous defensive player." Hendry also indicated that Fuld was among the club's untouchables, saying: "We're not going to trade [Fuld]. It's pretty simple."

2009 Fuld played for the Cubs in spring training in 2009, but was sent down to their AAA team in late March to work on stealing bases. He was called back up on June 30. Hendry said: "Sammy has been really hot. This will let Lou (manager Piniella) mix and match with outfield defense until Reed (Johnson) comes back."

On July 1, 2009, Fuld recorded his first major league hit in his first major league start of the season and the second start of his career. Leading off the game Fuld hit a double against Virgil Vasquez of the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. In the fourth inning Fuld made a sliding catch of a sinking liner (see video of Fuld's sliding catch robbing Vazquez of a hit), and in the fifth inning he fielded a single and threw out Jack Wilson at home (see video). "It was huge", said Cubs starter Randy Wells. "Sam Fuld, man, he gets to so many balls. He made a [heck] of a play throwing that guy out—the perfect throw."

Fuld hit the first home run of his major league career in the final game of the Cubs' 2009 season, on October 4 at Wrigley Field. He finished the season batting .299, and with the highest on-base percentage (.409) of any Cubs player with 100 or more plate appearances.

2010 Carrie Muskat, the Cubs' MLB.com beat reporter, wrote on March 1, 2010, that: "I can see Fuld making the Cubs' Opening Day roster... Fuld has shown he can handle the part-time workload, can play all three positions, and can be used as a defensive sub or pinch-runner." On March 30, however, the Cubs sent him down to AAA Iowa. Piniella remarked: "The decisions weren't easy."

Baseball writer Rob Neyer, noting that this followed Fuld batting .299 with a .409 on-base percentage for the Cubs, wrote, "don't you think you could find a place for a fast guy who gets on base and plays great defense? The Cubs did find a place for him. No, not Wrigley Field. Not Heaven, either. Iowa. Again. Where Fuld posted a .383 on-base percentage.... I'm telling you, there are worse fourth outfielders on half the teams in the majors right now." A writer for the American Spectator mused: "what were the Cubs thinking ...? ... perhaps decision makers ... didn't ... pencil him into lineup cards because they were prejudiced against players of Fuld's stature. But those who don't believe guys of Fuld's size can be solid major league players should be sentenced to sit in the corner under the dunce hat, and read Joe Morgan's statistics over and over."

Tampa Bay Rays

2011 Fuld's play with the Cubs was limited to late-season call-ups over three years, including just 40 starts. He was traded with minor leaguers Hak-Ju Lee, Brandon Guyer, Robinson Chirinos, and Chris Archer for starting pitcher Matt Garza, outfielder Fernando Perez, and reliever Zac Rosscup.

Manager Joe Maddon noted Fuld's outstanding walks-to-strikeouts ratio, which Maddon referred to as "freaky-weird": 325 walks vs. 272 strikeouts in his professional career. Maddon said: "He's a major-league baseball player right now.... He's been needing opportunity; he's probably going to get the opportunity here right now." He also observed that Fuld was a: very, very good defender. He has really great instincts out there, and a fine arm. He works excellent at bats.... If somebody were to get hurt, this guy could fill in on a regular basis for a while. He's not going to be overwhelmed by anything. Great makeup.... He's a pretty tough kid.

Rays hitting coach Derek Shelton noted that: "[Fuld's] contact ratio is off the charts. He has probably one of the shortest swings I've ever seen." Tommy Rancel of ESPN described him as: "Tampa Bay's version of Brett Gardner; albeit in a reduced role".

On April 9, playing right field against the Chicago White Sox who had the bases loaded, Fuld made what the Tampa Tribune called "one of the best catches in team history". Rays center fielder B.J. Upton said: "Oh my god, oh my. I thought he was going to dive into the [wall].... I was screaming from center field when he caught it. 'Great catch!' Should be play of the year so far." His popularity spread on the internet by late April, with the Toronto Sun writing: "Fuld ranks in the Top 10 in batting average, runs, and triples, and also leads the AL in stolen bases and YouTube hits, especially video hits for a catch in Chicago diving towards the right field corner onto the warning track that has been set to a Superman theme."

On April 11, as a reporter for major league baseball described it, Fuld "turned Fenway Park into his personal playground." Maddon observed that Fuld's refusal to stop at first reflected his integrity. He became the fifth player in Tampa Bay history to have four extra-base hits in a game, and the first since Tomás Pérez in 2006. His four extra-base hits and 11 total bases were also records for a Fenway Park debut.

His "Superman" YouTube video was joked about on Twitter with tweets at the #LegendofSamFuld hash tag, such as "Sam Fuld was once intentionally walked while in the on deck circle", "The Red Sox check under their bed for Sam Fuld", and Maddon's favorite: "Superman wears a Sam Fuld T-shirt to bed." Though not a Twitter user, Fuld caught on quickly: When reporters asked him the next day why he could not stop the rain that was causing a rainout, Fuld quipped: "This is me, washing my planet". By mid-April, he had won the starting left fielder position and leadoff hitter slot with the Rays.

On April 18, a week after his four-hit Fenway Park debut, Fuld had four hits in four at bats against the White Sox. That raised his batting average to an AL-leading .396, to go along with his league lead in stolen bases. His batting average was the second-highest in team history through April 18 in a season, behind only Fred McGriff (1998). He became the first Tampa Bay leadoff batter with two four-hit games in a season since Carl Crawford, who did it twice in 2005, and the first major leaguer to have two four-hit games in the 2011 season. He was fourth in the league in hits (21), fifth in on-base percentage (.431) and OPS (1.035), tied for fifth in doubles (6), sixth in slugging percentage (.604), and was third-toughest player to strike out (one strikeout per 14.5 plate appearances). A reporter for major league baseball, in explaining his rise to fame, wrote: "you won't find any other 5-foot-9... New Hampshire-born, Jewish, diabetic outfielders in the Baseball Encyclopedia. As of April 20, Fuld led Baseball Tonight'''s Web Gem standings with 18 points, which included Web Gems at each outfield position.

The press and the Rays began to refer to him by the nicknames "Superman", "Super Sam", and "The Legendary Sam Fuld". The Rays gave away Super Sam Fuld Superhero Capes to children at the team's May 29 game.

In a game against the Brewers on June 20, 2011, he reported to the pitcher's mound in the 8th inning and warmed up in order to give a relief pitcher time to warm up in the bull pen. He did not throw a recorded pitch, or appear as a pitcher in the box score.

Fuld finished the season with a .240 batting average, and tied for second on the team in stolen bases, with 20.

2012

Fuld initially injured ligaments in his right wrist in September 2011, but re-aggravated them on a swing in spring training on March 23, 2012. On April 3, Dr. Thomas Graham performed surgery to repair his wrist ligaments. Fuld missed the first 96 games of the season, and made his 2012 debut on July 24, playing in 44 games during the season.

For the season, he played in 70 games as a substitute, which were the most by any AL player since Brian Anderson played in 70 with the White Sox in 2008, and was one of six AL outfielders to start at least 10 games at all each outfield position. Through 2017, Fuld had the highest contact rate in Rays’ history among batters with at least 500 plate appearances.

Oakland Athletics (2014) Fuld signed a minor league deal with the Oakland Athletics on January 4, 2014. On April 12, after he played in seven games, Fuld was designated for assignment to make room on the active roster for Craig Gentry. Oakland was required to put Fuld on waivers within 10 days, and could only retain him if he was not claimed on waivers by another team.

Minnesota Twins (2014) Fuld was claimed on waivers by the Minnesota Twins on April 20, 2014. He played in 13 games with the Twins, hitting .250 before suffering a concussion on May 2 after he crashed into a wall. He woke up with a headache on May 8, and was placed on the 7-day disabled list that day. He had been starting in center field that week as the replacement for Aaron Hicks, who had also suffered a concussion. After a setback in his recovery on May 14, he was transferred to the 15-day disabled list on May 22. He batted .274 with a team-leading .370 OBP and 12 stolen bases for the Twins, in 53 games, before being traded.

Oakland Athletics (second stint; 2014–16)

On July 31, 2014, the Twins traded Fuld to the Oakland Athletics for pitcher Tommy Milone. On September 30, in the Athletics' wildcard game against the Kansas City Royals, Fuld reached base three times.

In the 2014 season, Fuld batted .239 in 113 games overall. He stole 21 bases in 25 attempts, with his 84% percentage tying for the ninth-best percentage in the American League. He led the league in double plays turned from left field, with three. He retired in November 2017.

Executive career On November 3, 2017, Fuld retired as a player and was named major league player information coordinator for the Philadelphia Phillies under new manager Gabe Kapler. In that position he worked closely with the team's players, coaches, front office, and the research and development department, to "integrate the use of information in all areas of on-field performance and preparation and make recommendations regarding the most effective areas of future research and analysis." At the same time, Gerry Fraley, writer for The Dallas Morning News, opined that Fuld was an interesting possibility to be hired as the next Texas Rangers manager.

After the 2019 regular season, Fuld's name was mentioned by a number of people as a candidate for the position of manager with the Pittsburgh Pirates. At the same time, NBC in Chicago mentioned him as a possible candidate to be the new manager for the Chicago Cubs, Joel Sherman mentioned him as an "off the beaten road" possibility to manage the New York Mets, and he was also mentioned as a possible managerial candidate for both the San Francisco Giants and the Philadelphia Phillies. R.J. Anderson, writing for CBS Sports, opined: "He's on the fast track to holding down a managerial post of his own." Jayson Stark also mentioned him as someone teams could consider as a new manager.

After the 2020 season, he was reportedly a finalist for the position of manager of the Boston Red Sox.

On July 14, 2020, Fuld returned to the field, playing Center Field during a Phillies Summer Camp exhibition game.

On December 22, 2020, Fuld was announced as the new general manager of the Philadelphia Phillies.

On December 19, 2022, the Phillies extended Fuld's contract through the 2025 season.

On November 8, 2024, the Phillies announced that Fuld would step down as the team's general manager and begin a transition to a role as the team's president of business operations. Fuld is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and will assume the new role upon his graduation in 2026. Preston Mattingly succeeded Fuld as general manager.

World Baseball Classic – Team Israel Fuld was the starting center fielder and batted lead-off for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Personal life

In June 2009, Fuld married Sarah Kolodner. He had met her while they were fellow students at Phillips Exeter Academy.

Diabetes

Fuld was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 10 years old. He recalled, "I was losing weight, I was thirsty all the time, just classic symptoms, so my parents knew something was wrong and the doctor diagnosed it right away. It was tough, but when I realized there was no other alternative, I just looked at it as a challenge." "Any time I can talk to young diabetic kids, I look forward to that opportunity", said Gullickson.

Fuld was comfortable handling the kidding in the clubhouse regarding his treatments. "We dish it out pretty good about his insulin shots", said his AA manager Pat Listach. "We always give him stuff about putting needles in the refrigerator, and shooting up in the clubhouse. He takes it all in stride. He's a good guy."

Recognition and awards

2000: 1st Team High School All-American (Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, USA Today, and Fox Sports) 2000: 19th on Baseball America's 100 Top High School Prospects list 2000: New Hampshire High School Baseball Player of the Year (Gatorade) 2001: 2nd Team College Freshman All-American OF (Baseball America) 2002: 1st Team College All-American OF (ABCA, Baseball America, Baseball Weekly, and Jewish Sports Review) 2002: College World Series All-Tournament Team OF 2003: 1st Team All-American (NCBWA) 2003: Cape Cod League All-Star OF 2003: Set College World Series all-time record for career hits 2004: 1st Team All-American (NCBWA) 2004: Set Pac-10 all-time record for career runs scored 2006: Florida State League All-Star OF 2007: Arizona Fall League Top Prospects Team 2007: Arizona Fall League Dernell Stenson Award 2007: Arizona Fall League Most Valuable Player 2008–09: All Winter League Team (Baseball America'') 2014: Cape Cod Baseball League Hall of Fame