#TheLegendofSamFuld retires, joins Kapler in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Phillies have added two former Tampa Bay Rays to their staff.

Earlier they announced Gabe Kapler as their new manager.

Now they have announced that Sam Fuld will be joining their front office as their new Major League Player Information Coordinator.

Former Tampa Bay Rays outfielder, Sam Fuld, announced his retirement as major league baseball player in a short video posted on LikeAPro.com, in which he also announced that he would be joining the Philadelphia Phillies in a front office position.

Fuld, 35, originally drafted in 2004 by the Chicago Cubs, came to the Rays in the January 2011 deal that also brought Chris Archer to Tampa Bay. Fuld, however, would make the first major league impact of that deal, becoming “legendary” during the first month of the 2011 season.

His all-or-nothing play in the outfield, which resulted in some of the best catches in franchise history, and his historic night at Fenway where he hustled his way out of hitting for the cycle, led to this bench player having an out-sized significance to the team. Ian Malinowski captured that significance upon Fuld’s departure from the Rays.

Over a nine year major league career (2007-2015), Fuld played for the Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Oakland Athletics, and the Minnesota Twins. He slashed .227/.307/.325 with 12 HR over 599 games and he accrued 5.0 fWAR.

Gabe Kapler meanwhile played in the majors from 1998 to 2010, finishing up his playing days with the Tampa Bay Rays. In his two years playing the short side of a right field platoon he was a little better than replacement in 2009 and a little worse than replacement in 2010. He would go on to become a member of the Rays front office before becoming the Director of Player Development for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The official announcement from the Philadelphia Phillies regarding Sam Fuld;