Trillo broke into the Major Leagues with the Oakland A’s in 1973, not bad since they were smack in the middle of their three-year reign as World Champions.
He appeared in 17 games for Oakland in 1973, collecting three hits over 12 at-bats, with the following year pretty much being the same for the young second baseman.
But in 1975 he found himself playing for the Chicago Cubs after being included in the trade that brought Hall of Famer Billy Williams out West.
This would be the break Trillo needed as he became a full-time player, appearing in 154 games, batting .248 with a surprising 70 runs batted in.
Over the next fourteen seasons he’d put together an excellent career that saw him win a World Championship with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980, win three Gold Gloves between 1979 and 1983 and get tabbed for four All-Star games.
By the time he retired after the 1989 season he finished up with 1562 hits over 5950 at-bats, good for a .263 average, with 598 runs scored and 571 runs batted in.