Ex-Phillies Gold Glover, coach Ruben Amaro Sr. dies at age 81

Ruben Amaro Sr., a former Gold Glove-winning infielder and longtime member of the Philadelphia Phillies organization, died Friday at age 81, the club announced.

"As a young fan in the early 1960s, I had the privilege of watching the amazing grace of Ruben Amaro Sr. as he played shortstop for the Phillies. Ten years later, Ruben was my professional colleague at the Phillies," Phillies chairman David Montgomery said in a statement, according to CSN Philadelphia. "He was a joy to be around because he treated people with the same special grace he exhibited fielding a ground ball."

A native of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, Amaro Sr. played 11 years in the majors, six of which were spent in Philadelphia. His best season came in 1964 - the year of the Phillies' famous late-season collapse - when he won his only Gold Glove at shortstop and finished 21st in NL MVP voting. Amaro Sr. hit .234/.309/.292 over his big-league career with the Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, and California Angels.

Later, Amaro Sr. returned to the Phillies and served as scout and scouting coordinator in Latin America for several decades. He also worked as a coach, and was the Phillies' first-base coach for their first World Series championship in 1980. Amaro Sr.'s manager of those 1980 Phillies, Dallas Green, died earlier this spring.

Amaro Sr.'s most recent employer was the Houston Astros, for whom he scouted from 2010-16. In a statement, the Astros said they "were extremely fortunate to have Ruben as part of our organization during the latter years of his outstanding career."

Amaro Sr. is a member of both the Cuban and Mexican Baseball Halls of Fame. His son, Boston Red Sox first-base coach Ruben Amaro Jr., also played in the majors and was the Phillies' general manager from 2009-15.