Quick Facts
Biography
Christopher Edward Speier (born June 28, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball player. He was drafted second overall in the January secondary 1970 Major League Baseball Draft. He currently serves as the Bench Coach for Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals.
Playing career
Speier played 19 seasons in the Major Leagues as a shortstop for the Montreal Expos, San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and briefly for the St. Louis Cardinals and Minnesota Twins during the 1984 season.
Speier accrued a career .246 batting average and a .970 fielding percentage. His overall playing strengths were his solid fielding and selective eye at the plate. He was also named to the National League All-Star team during the 1972, 1973 and 1974 seasons as a member of the Giants. Speier won the 1987 Willie Mac Award for his spirit and leadership during his second time with the Giants.
Coaching career
Speier was a coach on the World Series champion Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
He was the third base coach for the Chicago Cubs from 2005 to 2006.
Speier was signed by the Cincinnati Reds on October 29, 2007, as an infield coach and served as the Reds' bench coach. He also filled in when manager Dusty Baker 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 when Baker was fired, but stayed on in the Reds organization as a Special Assistant to General Manager Walt Jocketty.
He was named by new Nationals manager Baker as the bench coach for the 2016 season
Personal life
Speier was born and raised in Alameda, California, also the hometown of Major Leaguers Willie Stargell, Dontrelle Willis and Jimmy Rollins. He graduated from Alameda High School.
Speier is the father of former MLB relief pitcher Justin Speier and the uncle of Gabe Speier.
Speier converted to Catholicism after meeting his 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. The school was not accredited by the state, nor was it affiliated with the local diocese.
Chris Speier is currently married to Katie Speier.