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Richard Warren Hacker (October 6, 1947 – April 22, 2020) was a
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), ...
player, base coach and scout. Hacker played 16 games for 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 ...
in the 1971 season as a shortstop. He had a .121 batting average, with four hits in 33 at-bats. Hacker attended
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 ...
. After his playing career Hacker became a coach.


Coaching

Hacker was a base coach in the Major Leagues from 1986 to 1993, coaching 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 hav ...
from 1986–90 and the
Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
from 1991–93. Hacker coached first base for the Cardinals from 1986–87 and third base from 1988–90. He was the third base coach for the Blue Jays from 1991–93. He coached in two World Series (1987 and 1992) and was on the Blue Jays bench for a third (1993). He also coached in the 1988 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Hacker was seriously hurt in a car accident on the Martin Luther King Bridge in
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
in July 1993, when he collided with a driver who was
racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific goa ...
. The accident ended his career. During his recovery from injury he remained a member of the Blue Jays coaching staff, but was transferred to off-field work such as creating hitting charts of opposing teams. He was replaced as third base coach by
Nick Leyva Nicholas Tomas Leyva (born August 16, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. After his retirement as a Minor League Baseball (MiLB) player, Leyva moved into coaching. His Major League Baseball (MLB) coachi ...
.


Personal life

Hacker and his wife Kathryn lived in Belleville, Illinois, and had three grown children. He remained an active hunter and amateur baseball scout. He was a member of the New Athens High School Hall of Fame. Hacker's uncle was former Major Leaguer,
Warren Hacker Warren Louis Hacker (November 21, 1924 – May 22, 2002) was an American professional baseball player, a pitcher for the Chicago Cubs (1948–56), Cincinnati Redlegs (1957), Philadelphia Phillies (1957–58) and Chicago White Sox (1961). He was al ...
. Hacker died on April 22, 2020 in
Fairview Heights, Illinois Fairview Heights is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 17,078 at the 2010 census. Fairview Heights is a dominant shopping center for Southern Illinois and includes numerous shopping plazas and the St. Clair S ...
, due to leukemia.


See also

* List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches


References


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hacker, Rich 1947 births 2020 deaths Amarillo Gold Sox players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from Illinois Baseball players from Illinois Deaths from cancer in Illinois Deaths from leukemia Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third base coaches Mankato Mets players Memphis Blues players Montreal Expos players Peninsula Whips players St. Louis Cardinals coaches San Diego Padres scouts Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players Sportspeople from Belleville, Illinois Toronto Blue Jays coaches Toronto Blue Jays scouts Visalia Mets players Winnipeg Whips players