Richard Warren Hacker (October 6, 1947 – April 22, 2020) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player, base coach and scout. Hacker played 16 games for the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

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 T ...

. 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

from 1986 to 1990 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) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

from 1991 to 1993. Hacker coached first base for the Cardinals from 1986–87 and third base from 1988–90. He was a coach for

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

manager Whitey Herzog who also attended New Athens High School in

New Athens, Illinois ::''See also Athens, Illinois and Athens (disambiguation) for more places called "Athens".'' New Athens () is a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. Based upon common usage, the 'A' is always sounded with a long vowel, rather ...

. Hacker 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 ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

in July 1993, when he collided with a driver who was

racing In sports, 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 g ...

. 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.

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 ...

. Hacker died on April 22, 2020, in Fairview Heights, Illinois, due to leukemia.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hacker, Rich 1947 births 2020 deaths Amarillo Gold Sox players 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from Illinois Deaths from leukemia in Illinois 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 Baseball players from Belleville, Illinois Toronto Blue Jays coaches Toronto Blue Jays scouts Visalia Mets players Winnipeg Whips players