A little more than a month after his 17th birthday, on Jan. 26, 1968, the Phillies signed Venezuelan Jesus Manuel Trillo as an international amateur free agent. He was a 6-foot-1, 150-pound catcher. During this season’s Toyota Weekend, Manny Trillo, now 70, will be inducted into the Toyota Wall of Fame. Ceremonies of a year ago were canceled by Covid-19.

Manny becomes the third second baseman on the wall, joining Tony Taylor (2002) and Juan Samuel (2008). He also becomes the 10th member of the 1980 world champion Phillies to receive the honor. Expected to join Manny on the stage are Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Larry Bowa, Bob Boone, Garry Maddox and Greg Luzinski.

• Phillis alumni

Trillo’s four seasons with the Phillies (1979-82) were spectacular. He won three Gold Gloves, two Silver Sluggers and made two All-Star teams. His .277 batting average was his highest for any of the teams in his career. He became the first Phillies player to win an NLCS MVP in the 1980 gut-wrenching series win over Houston. He had a key RBI double in Game 4 and a two-run triple in clinching Game 5. His average for the five games was .381.

Gold Gloves describe his strength. His most powerful tool was his arm. Many opined that he had the strongest arm of any second baseman in history. His trademark after fielding a ball was to briefly look at it and then fire a rocket to first base. That arm was deadly on relays out of the right field corner. He gunned down a runner at home plate in the NLCS and World Series.

In 1982, Trillo set a Major-League record with 89 consecutive errorless games and 479 consecutive errorless fielding chances. He was that good.

Trillo’s pro debut came with the Huron (S.D.) Phillies of the Northern League months after he signed. He was raised by his mother and now for the first time he was away from her, unable to speak and understand English. He admitted to crying a lot.

His teammate was another 17-year-old, Greg Luzinski, the Phillies No. 1 draft pick that year. His manager was Dallas Green, making his debut as a Minor League manager. In 35 games (102 at-bats), Trillo hit .261. He caught 6 games, played third base in 13 games and 14 at shortstop.

“There was no way I was going to put this fragile, skinny kid behind the plate,” wrote Green in his book, "The Mouth That Roared." “I found time to give Manny a little extra attention. He was one of the few Latin kids on the team. I could only imagine how difficult it was for Manny at that time. In the lower Minor Leagues, you make peanuts. I slipped Manny a few bucks here and there, because I knew he had nothing.”

Trillo’s path from a Huron Phillies uniform to wearing a big-league uniform in Philadelphia wasn’t a direct path. The Oakland A’s selected him in the 1969 Rule 5 draft and later traded him to the Chicago Cubs in a deal for Billy Williams in 1974. The A’s made him a full-time second baseman the year prior when he made his Major League debut.

Just prior to Spring Training in 1979, Phillies GM Paul Owens acquired him in an eight-player trade with the Cubs. Manny was part of the five players the Phillies shipped to Cleveland for Von Hayes after the 1982 season. With Green in Chicago as the Cubs president, Trillo was brought back to the Cubs as a 34-year-old defensive specialist. Trillo’s last season was with the 1989 Cincinnati Reds.

After his playing career, Trillo was a Minor League coach in the Cubs, Phillies, Rays, Yankees, Brewers and White Sox organizations before retiring in 2012.