John Vukovich dead at 59

What's the definition of a gamer? Somebody who hits .161 in his major-league career ... and lasts 10 seasons.

RIP, Vuk. You'll be missed.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BBN_OBIT_VUKOVICH?SITE=PACHA&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

Sad story. I remember him from the days when the Astros and Phillies used to do battle.

 

Damn. He was almost as Philly as Lasorda was Dodger.

I was a fan of Pete Vuckovich as a youngster and I wondered whether he and John were related. (They weren't.)

RIP.

 

They weren't? Did not know that.

 

Pete was of a different spelling. And in fact, John and George were teammates on the '80 Phillies and were of no relation.

 

You gotta know where the bodies are buried or have dirty pictures of someone's sister to last 10 seasons as a career .161 hitter.

 

He was the Manager in Waiting for several years on the Northside under Dallas Green.

The day Green resigned in '87 the reporters who showed up for the press conference thought they were there for the announcement of Vukovich as the Cubs' new manager.

 

Well, to be fair, five of those 10 seasons, he played 11 games or fewer. And he never had more than 211 ABs in a season.

Obviously the type of guy you wanted to have around your ballclub, though.

 

Nice Jericho avatar, Football.

This sucks. I remember watching Vukovich when he played... not the best hitter, but a great team player. RIP.

 

One of the nicest human beings it was my pleasure to know. RIP, Vuke

And Hondo, I've got to say that for you to make the kind of comment you did on this thread, then you obviously didn't know Vuke and what he brought to a ballclub. He was a leader and a coach in the clubhouse and every manager who dealt with him just loved having him on the team.

This one really hurts.

 

casty, a good point indeed. Yet I have to wonder if anyone would last 10 years with a .161 average today. Too much media glare, even for 24th or 25th man on the roster.

 

The truth.

And the way he fought lately made him even more of a man.