Rich Hacker
Shortstop
Born: (1947-10-06)October 6, 1947
Belleville, Illinois, U.S.
Died: April 22, 2020(2020-04-22) (aged 72)
Fairview Heights, Illinois, U.S.
Batted: Both
Threw: Right
MLB debut
July 2, 1971, for the Montreal Expos
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1971, for the Montreal Expos
MLB statistics
Batting average.121
Home runs0
Runs batted in2
Teams
As player
As coach
Career highlights and awards

Richard Warren Hacker (October 6, 1947 – April 22, 2020) was an American Major League Baseball player, base coach and scout. Hacker played 16 games for the Montreal Expos 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. 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 from 1986 to 1990 and the Toronto Blue Jays from 1991 to 1993. 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 in July 1993, when he collided with a driver who was racing.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] Hacker died on April 22, 2020, in Fairview Heights, Illinois, due to leukemia.[4]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASEBALL; Coach Hospitalized After Crash". The New York Times. July 13, 1993. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  2. ↑ Schmitz, Brian (October 24, 1993). "Jays Accident Victim Regaining His World". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  3. ↑ Rich Hacker at the SABR Baseball Biography Project, by David Vincent, Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  4. ↑ Hummel, Rick (April 23, 2020). "Former Cardinals coach Rich Hacker, a New Athens product like Herzog, dies at 72". Olean Times Herald. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
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