Career highlights (through 2015)

• Selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 10th round of the 2004 draft (306th overall)
• Scored three runs — all as a pinch runner — before making his first MLB plate appearance
• Fuld’s first career hit was a double; that day, he went 2-for-4 with a walk in the Cubs’ 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates (7/1/2009)
• One of a handful of players with Type 1 diabetes (MLB.com; Mar. 17, 2009)

MLB career bests, by statistic

• AVG: .299 (2009)
• 2B: 18 (2011)
• 3B: 5 (2011)
• HR: 4 (2014)
• RBI: 36 (2014)
• BB: 43 (2014)
• SB: 21 (2011)
• OBP: .409 (2009)
• SLG: .412 (2009)

2015 highlights

• One of only two A.L. leftfielders to turn three doubleplays
• Hit .455 (5-for-11) with bases loaded, driving in 10 runs
• Ranked 4th among A.L. leftfielders with 7 assists (tied)
• Ranked 4th among A.L. leftfielders with 7 total zone runs

2014 highlights

• Marked career highs in at-bats (351), home runs (4), RBIs (36) and stolen bases (21)
• Successfully stole a base in 84 percent of his attemtps, tied for 10th-best rate in the A.L.
• Had 5 assists in center field, tied for 5th-best in the A.L.
• Ranked 5th in the entire A.L. with 17 total zone runs, the number of runs above or below average a player is worth defensively
• Went 3-for-3 with a HR and two SBs in Minnesota’s 2-0 win over Seattle (7/8/2014)
• All four of his HRs came in games where his team (Oakland or Minnesota) won
• Had nine go-ahead hits

2013 highlights

• The Tampa Bay Rays were getting crushed by the Angels on 9/2/2013 when manager Joe Maddon boosted morale by bringing in his secret weapon: Sam Fuld. The 31-year-old outfielder hadn’t pitched since high school, but with two outs and men on 2nd and 3rd, he retired J.B. Shuck on 5 pitches
  

2012 highlights

• After spending the first few months of the season on the disabled list, hit .255 in 98 at-bats and stole 7 bases

2011 highlights

• Stole a career-high 3 bases on 4/7/2011
• During April, hit .289 with 10 stolen bases and 11 walks
• Tied for 2nd among Tampa Bay Rays players with 20 stolen bases
• Hit 5 triples, 3rd most on the Tampa Bay Rays
• Had four sacrifices, tied for 3rd most on the club
• His 26 extra-base hits were 8th highest on the Rays, despite having just 308 at-bats
• Ranked 4th among American League left fielders in assists, with 5S

2009 highlights

• Split the season between Iowa (AAA) and the Chicago Cubs
• Batted .299 with a .409 on-base percentage in 97 at-bats
• Batted .396 at night, and .182 in day games
• Went 3-for-4 twice (Sept. 25, Sept. 29)
• Hit a home run, his first, in season finale (Oct. 4)

On being Jewish

• “As a child, he was exposed to customs of both Judaism and Christianity, and he considers himself Jewish.” (Baseball-reference.com)
• MLB.com: You celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah, right? Fuld: Right. My father is Jewish and my mother is Catholic. Christmas has always been a big deal. Obviously, because of the way Christmas is, it’s a favorite over Hanukkah. From a young age, you get more gifts at Christmas, so it’s always more exciting. We always have family over at Christmas. MLB.com: You still celebrate Hanukkah? Fuld: Yes, but it’s very low key. We light the menorah, things like that. I have the best of both worlds. I had a couple Jewish friends who were jealous of everybody. I was fortunate. We celebrate both. MLB.com: Do you put up a real tree or an artificial one? Fuld: We do the real thing. There’s plenty of places up here in New Hampshire to cut down trees. I haven’t participated in a while — my folks do that. I help with the decorating. It’s a good time with the family. We always decorate the tree together.”

For more information

• Baseball-Reference page
  
• Jewish Baseball Museum bio
• Baseball cards

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