Chris Heintz selected as 2024 John Vukovich Award winner
Chris Heintz, the Clearwater Threshers hitting coach, has been selected as the 2024 recipient of the John Vukovich Award, the club announced today.
The 50-year-old Heintz, who joined the Phillies organization before the 2018 season as a Gulf Coast League coach, began his first coaching stint with Clearwater in 2019. A native of Syosset, N.Y., he was named assistant hitting coordinator in March 2021 and spent two years in that position before returning to the Threshers as hitting coach prior to the 2023 season. Over the last two years, Clearwater made the postseason twice and led the Florida State League in batting average (.244), on-base percentage (.349) and OPS (.724), ranked second in hits (2,012), home runs (201) and slugging percentage (.375) and third in runs scored (1,331). During his time with the organization, Heintz has assisted in the development of Alec Bohm, Rafael Marchán, Johan Rojas and top Phillies prospects such as Starlyn Caba, Justin Crawford, Aidan Miller, Dante Nori and Eduardo Tait.
“Chris clearly personifies the characteristics and qualities of this award’s namesake,” said Preston Mattingly, Phillies assistant general manager, player development. “Chris has played an integral role in the development of our players. With a passion for player improvement, he has specifically helped guide our single-A hitters and shape our off-season programming, setting the foundation for future Philadelphia Phillies. It is our privilege to honor Chris with this well-deserved award.”
Heintz, a former catcher, appeared in 34 major league games for the Minnesota Twins over three seasons (2005-07) after being selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 19th round of the 1996 MLB Draft. A member of the University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame, he spent five years as an assistant coach at USF and two years in the Twins minor league system as a manager and coach prior to joining the Phillies.
"I am truly grateful to be this year’s recipient of the John Vukovich Award,” Heintz said. “To be recognized by the Phillies as someone who embodies the qualities that ‘Vuk’ demonstrated is the ultimate honor. I am thankful for the opportunity to work in such a first-class organization with so many other talented and dedicated staff members. I would also like to recognize all the players I have had the privilege to work with. Impacting their growth and development has been truly rewarding."
The 2024 John Vukovich Award will be presented on the field on Wednesday, Sept. 25, prior to the 6:05 p.m. game against the Chicago Cubs. The award was established in 2007 to honor Vukovich, the longest-tenured coach in Phillies history (17 seasons) and one of the most respected persons to ever wear a Phillies uniform. It is presented annually to an instructor in the Phillies organization who embodies the characteristics of the award’s namesake: loyalty, dedication, competitiveness, knowledge, honesty and a terrific work ethic. Vukovich, who spent 30 of his 41 years in baseball with the Phillies, passed away in March 2007.
Past winners of the John Vukovich Award have been Ramon Henderson (2007), Bill Dancy (2008), Roly deArmas (2009), Mike Compton (2010), Greg Legg (2011), Carlos Arroyo (2012), Manny Amador (2013), Sal Rende (2014), Steve Schrenk (2015), Larry Bowa (2016), Doug Mansolino (2017), Rafael DeLima (2018), Ernie Whitt (2019), Orlando Muñoz (2021), Marty Malloy (2022) and Lester Straker (2023). The award was not given in 2020.