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. When Baker became the manager of the Washington Nationals before the 2016 season, Speier was named bench coach; his contract expired after the 2017 season. Career statistics Speier also played 185 games at third base, 138 games at second base and 2 games at first base. In the post-season covering 17 games (1971,1981,1987 NLCS) he batted .280 (14-for-50) with 8 runs, 1 home run and 4 RBI. 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 now 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. See also List of Major League Baseball players to hit for the cycle References Further reading External links Chris Speier at SABR (Baseball BioProject) Living people 1950 births Amarillo Giants players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona Diamondbacks coaches Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from California Chicago Cubs coaches Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds coaches Houston Astros coaches Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Minnesota Twins players Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players National League All-Stars Sportspeople from Alameda, California Phoenix Firebirds players San Francisco Giants players St. Louis Cardinals players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball players Washington Nationals coaches