Rounded Third

John Vukovich, the longest serving coach in Phillies history, has died of brain cancer at the age of 59. The Phillies flashed their unique insight by making Vukovich the 10th overall pick in the 1966 amateur draft, and he rewarded them with a .161 lifetimeaverage. Hard to believe this team has won only one world championship in 123 seasons. Vukovich was there for the world championship, earning a ring to go with one he earned as a member of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds.“Vook’s” glove kept in the majors and yielded his career highlight, preserving Rick Wise’s 1971 no-hitter with two great plays, including a line drive off the bat of Pete Rose for the game’s last out. After the 1981 season, Vook followed Dallas Green to Chicago to start his coaching career and in 1987 was named manager of the Chicago Cubs. Unfortunately a few hours later, the Tribune Company fired Green as GM and Vukovich lost his dream job. He came back to Philadelphia and served as a coach for 17 seasons under 6 managers and posted a 5-4 record as interim manager, the only Phils manager with a composite winning record from 1984 to 2000. Seriously, my team sucks. On a team whose fans haven’t loved many people who don’t wear furry green costumes or hit 58 homers,Vukovich became a fan favorite and received a standing ovation in his first game in the coach’s box after returning from cancer surgery in 2001. Vook later admitted that the surgery had left him susceptible to light and during day games, he was basically guessing when he sent runners from third base.