# Rich Hacker > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rich_Hacker > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rich_Hacker.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Hacker > Source revision: 1290513291 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American baseball player (1947–2020)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Rich Hacker |position=[Shortstop](/source/Shortstop) |image=Rich Hacker Cardinals.jpg |bats=Both |throws=Right |birth_date={{Birth date|1947|10|6|mf=y}} |birth_place=[Belleville, Illinois](/source/Belleville%2C_Illinois), U.S. |death_date={{Death date and age|2020|4|22|1947|10|6}} |death_place=[Fairview Heights, Illinois](/source/Fairview_Heights%2C_Illinois), U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=July 2 |debutyear=1971 |debutteam=Montreal Expos |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=September 29 |finalyear=1971 |finalteam=Montreal Expos |statleague = MLB |stat1label=[Batting average](/source/Batting_average_(baseball)) |stat1value=.121 |stat2label=[Home run](/source/Home_run)s |stat2value=0 |stat3label=[Runs batted in](/source/Run_batted_in) |stat3value=2 |teams= ;As player *[Montreal Expos](/source/Montreal_Expos) ({{mlby|1971}}) ;As coach * [St. Louis Cardinals](/source/St._Louis_Cardinals) ({{by|1986}}–{{by|1990}}) * [Toronto Blue Jays](/source/Toronto_Blue_Jays) ({{by|1991}}–{{by|1993}}) |highlights= * 2× [World Series champion](/source/World_Series_champion) ({{wsy|1992}}, {{wsy|1993}}) }} '''Richard Warren Hacker''' (October 6, 1947 – April 22, 2020) was an American [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball) player, base coach and scout. Hacker played 16 games for the [Montreal Expos](/source/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](/source/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](/source/St._Louis_Cardinals) from 1986 to 1990 and the [Toronto Blue Jays](/source/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 a coach for [Hall of Fame](/source/National_Baseball_Hall_of_Fame_and_Museum) manager [Whitey Herzog](/source/Whitey_Herzog) who also attended New Athens High School in [New Athens, Illinois](/source/New_Athens%2C_Illinois).{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/schools/index.cgi?key_school=eb8a5e96|title=New Athens HS (New Athens, IL) Baseball Players|access-date=2025-04-06}} 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](/source/1988_Major_League_Baseball_All-Star_Game). Hacker was seriously hurt in a car accident on the [Martin Luther King Bridge](/source/Martin_Luther_King_Bridge_(St._Louis)) in [St. Louis](/source/St._Louis) in July 1993, when he collided with a driver who was [racing](/source/Street_racing).{{cite web |title=SPORTS PEOPLE: BASEBALL; Coach Hospitalized After Crash |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/13/sports/sports-people-baseball-coach-hospitalized-after-crash.html |website=The New York Times |accessdate=April 11, 2020 |date=July 13, 1993}} 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](/source/Nick_Leyva).{{cite web |last1=Schmitz |first1=Brian |title=Jays Accident Victim Regaining His World |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1993-10-24-9310240509-story.html |website=OrlandoSentinel.com |accessdate=April 11, 2020 |date=October 24, 1993}} ==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](/source/Warren_Hacker).{{Cite web |last=Vincent |first=David |title=Rich Hacker |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Rich-Hacker/ |access-date=2025-03-11 |website=Society for American Baseball Research |language=en-US}} Hacker died on April 22, 2020, in [Fairview Heights, Illinois](/source/Fairview_Heights%2C_Illinois), due to leukemia.{{cite web |last1=Hummel |first1=Rick |date=April 23, 2020 |title=Former Cardinals coach Rich Hacker, a New Athens product like Herzog, dies at 72 |url=https://www.stltoday.com/former-cardinals-coach-rich-hacker-a-new-athens-product-like-herzog-dies-at-72/article_a7275f0e-e8a8-529a-9441-4857cdce7a80.html |accessdate=2025-03-11 |website=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |language=en}} ==See also== * [List of St. Louis Cardinals coaches](/source/List_of_St._Louis_Cardinals_coaches) ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Baseballstats |mlb=115284 |br=h/hackeri01 |brm=hacker001ric |retro=Phackr101}} * {{Sabrbio|Rich-Hacker|David Vincent|April 24, 2020}} {{1992 Toronto Blue Jays}} {{1993 Toronto Blue Jays}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Hacker, Rich}} Category:1947 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Amarillo Gold Sox players Category:20th-century American sportsmen Category:American expatriate baseball players in Canada Category:Baseball coaches from Illinois Category:Deaths from leukemia in Illinois Category:Major League Baseball first base coaches Category:Major League Baseball shortstops Category:Major League Baseball third base coaches Category:Mankato Mets players Category:Memphis Blues players Category:Montreal Expos players Category:Peninsula Whips players Category:St. Louis Cardinals coaches Category:San Diego Padres scouts Category:Southern Illinois Salukis baseball players Category:Baseball players from Belleville, Illinois Category:Toronto Blue Jays coaches Category:Toronto Blue Jays scouts Category:Visalia Mets players Category:Winnipeg Whips players --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rich Hacker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Hacker) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Hacker?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.