Christopher Edward Speier (born June 28, 1950) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player. He played in

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), ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

, most notably for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

and 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 is known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"The

Alameda An alameda is a Avenue (landscape), street or path lined with trees () and may refer to: Places Canada *Alameda, Saskatchewan, town in Saskatchewan **Grant Devine Dam, formerly ''Alameda Dam'', a dam and reservoir in southern Saskatchewan Chile ...

Rifle" as a native of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

city who possessed a strong arm during his days as an active player.

Playing career

Speier was drafted by the Giants as the second overall pick in the first round of 1970 Major League Baseball draft. Speier played 19 seasons in the Major Leagues as a

for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and briefly for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

during the 1984 season. In an exchange of starting shortstops, he was traded from the Giants to the Expos for

Tim Foli Timothy John Foli (born December 6, 1950), is an American former professional baseball player, coach and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, Pi ...

on April 26, 1977. Speier accrued a career .246

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

and a .970

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

at shortstop. His overall playing strengths were his solid fielding and selective eye at the plate. He was also named to the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

All-Star team during the 1972, 1973 and 1974 seasons as a member of the Giants. Speier won the 1987

Willie Mac Award The Willie Mac Award is named in honor of Willie McCovey. It has been presented annually since 1980 to the most inspirational player on the San Francisco Giants, as voted upon by Giants players, coaches, training staff, and more recently, Giants ...

for his spirit and leadership during his second time with the Giants. He hit for the cycle twice in his major league career, on July 20, 1978, as a member of the

in a 7-3 victory over the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

at Montreal and nearly 10 years later on July 9, 1988, as a member of the San Francisco Giants in a 21-2 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...

Coaching career

2000

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

Third Base Coach Wearing #43 2001

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Third Base Coach Wearing #35 2004

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Bench Coach Wearing #46 2005-2006

Third Base Coach Wearing #35 2008-2013

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

bench coach wearing #35/interim third base coach in 2013 when Mark Berry was receiving treatment for throat cancer 2016-2017

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Bench Coach Wearing #35 2020

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Quality Control Coach Wearing #36 Speier was a coach on the World Series champion

in 2001. He was the third base coach for the

from 2005 to 2006. Speier was signed by the

on October 29, 2007, as an

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass-c ...

coach and served as the Reds'

bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

. He also filled in when manager

Dusty Baker Johnnie B. "Dusty" Baker Jr. (born June 15, 1949) is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Houston Astros in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in the MLB for 19 seasons, most notably with the L ...

was hospitalized in Chicago in September 2012 – this was when they clinched a playoff berth. He was replaced as the bench coach by

Jay Bell Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–88), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989� ...

when Baker was fired, but stayed on in the Reds organization as a Special Assistant to General Manager

Walt Jocketty Walt Jocketty (born February 19, 1951) is a baseball executive who is the Executive Adviser to the CEO of the Cincinnati Reds. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he attended the University of Minnesota where he earned a bachelor's degree in business a ...

. When Baker became the manager of the

before the 2016 season, Speier was named bench coach; his contract expired after the 2017 season.

Career statistics

Speier also played 185 games at third base, 138 games at second base and 2 games at first base. In the post-season covering 17 games (1971,1981,1987 NLCS) he batted .280 (14-for-50) with 8 runs, 1 home run and 4 RBI.

Personal life

Speier was born and raised in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...

, also the hometown of Major Leaguers

Willie Stargell Wilver Dornell Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" later in his career, was an American professional baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent all of his 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) ( 1962– 1982 ...

Dontrelle Willis Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982), nicknamed "The D-Train", is an American former left-handed professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinn ...

and

Jimmy Rollins James Calvin Rollins (born November 27, 1978), nicknamed "J-Roll", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and Chicago White S ...

. He graduated from

Alameda High School Alameda High School is a co-educational state high school serving grades 9–12. It is located in Alameda, California, United States, and is part of the Alameda Unified School District. History The suggestion to open a "Preparatory Department o ...

. Speier is the father of former MLB

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

Justin Speier Justin James Speier (born November 6, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. He attended Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. Upon graduation from Brophy Prep, Speier attended the University ...

and the uncle of

Gabe Speier Gabe may refer to: *A diminutive for Gabriel **Gabe Carimi, All American and NFL football left tackle ** Gabe Cramer, American baseball pitcher ** Gabe Kaplan, American actor and comedian ** Gabe Kapler, American major league baseball outfielder and ...

. Speier converted to Catholicism after meeting his now ex-wife and became an activist in the pro-life movement. In 1993 he was the principal of the religious Ville de Marie Academy in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

. The school was not accredited by the state, nor was it affiliated with the local diocese.

References

External links

Chris Speier
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) :
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speier, Chris Living people 1950 births Amarillo Giants players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona Diamondbacks coaches Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from California Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds coaches Houston Astros coaches Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars Sportspeople from Alameda, California Phoenix Firebirds players San Francisco Giants players St. Louis Cardinals players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball players Washington Nationals coaches