George Stephen Vukovich (born June 24, 1956) is a former

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in all or part of six seasons from 1980–1985. Listed at 6' 0" , 198 lb. , Vukovich batted left handed and threw right handed. He was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Vukovich attended college at

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

, where he was a member of

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic fraternity with approximately 74 active chapters and provisional chapters in North America. Most of its first two dozen chapters were granted to schools in ...

fraternity. The Phillies selected him in the fourth round of the

1977 MLB draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1977 Major League Baseball draft. Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The White Sox surprised some when they passed on right-handed pitcher Bill ...

out of SIU. Vukovich made his major league debut with the Phillies in 1980, appearing as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

in a game against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. He received a World Series ring in his rookie season, even though he did not play in the Series. In 1981, Vukovich hit a game-winning home run against the

in Game 4 of the

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...

. It remains the only walk-off home run in Phillies playoff history. In December 1982, Vukovich was sent along with

Jay Baller Jay Scot Baller (born October 6, 1960) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and Kansas City Royals. Listed at 6' 6", 215 lbs., he batted and threw right-handed. Ball ...

Julio Franco Julio César Franco Robles (born August 23, 1958)Franco's birth date is in question. Many of his early bios and cards have his birthday listed in 1954, and on the roster of the Quintana Roo Tigres, his birthday is listed in 1961. is a Dominica ...

Manny Trillo Jesús Manuel Marcano Trillo (born December 25, 1950), also nicknamed "Indio", is a Venezuelan people, Venezuelan former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (–), Chicago Cub ...

and

Jerry Willard Gerald Duane Willard (born March 14, 1960) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1984 to 1994 for the Cleveland Indians, Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, Montreal Ex ...

to the Indians in the same transaction that brought

Von Hayes Von Francis Hayes (born August 31, 1958) is an American former professional baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned from 1981 to 1992 for the Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, and California Angels. Hayes was acqui ...

to Philadelphia. Afterwards, he played two seasons in Japan for the

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

from 1986 to 1987. In between, Vukovich played winter ball with the

Águilas del Zulia The Águilas del Zulia ( en, Zulia Eagles) is a Venezuelan professional baseball team based in Maracaibo which plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. History The team was founded in 1969 and debuted in the 1969–70 season. The fra ...

of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

during three seasons spanning 1979–1982. He later made a brief appearance for the Daytona Beach Explorers of the

Senior Professional Baseball Association The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had ei ...

in 1991.The Trading Card Database
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References

External links

*Appeared as a guest on BaD Radio on KTCK Sports Radio 1310/96.7 in Dallas/Fort Worth on March 3, 2014 as part of the Dan McDowell Birthday Show 1956 births Living people Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela American expatriate baseball players in Japan American people of Serbian descent Auburn Phillies players Baseball players from Chicago Cleveland Indians players Daytona Beach Explorers players Major League Baseball right fielders Oklahoma City 89ers players Peninsula Pilots players Philadelphia Phillies players Reading Phillies players Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players Seibu Lions players Toledo Mud Hens players {{US-baseball-outfielder-1950s-stub