VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA

Vintage Baseball Memorabilia

Chris Speier

Positions: Shortstop, Third Baseman and Second Baseman
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-1, 175lb (185cm, 79kg)
Born: June 28, 1950  in Alameda, CA us
High Schools: Alameda HS (Alameda, CA), Encinal HS (Alameda, CA)
Schools: Laney College (Oakland, CA), University of California, Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
Debut: April 7, 1971 (13,111th in major league history)
vs. SDP 4 AB, 2 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: October 1, 1989
vs. SDP 3 AB, 2 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Full Name: Chris Edward Speier
Nicknames: Spy
Pronunciation: \spire\
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Relatives: Father of Justin Speier; Uncle of Gabe Speier

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1971

Chris Speier
Chris Chambliss
Ron Cey
George Hendrick
Dave Kingman
Jon Matlack
Doyle Alexander
Cecil Cooper
Darrell Porter

Notable Events and Chronology for Chris Seier Career

Sort bySearch Days, Events, Players Title (A - Z)Date (Newest)

January 17, 1970

Major league teams select a record 357 players in the January phase of the annual free agent draft, Chris Chambliss, Chris Speier and Fred Lynn,

June 4, 1970

In the June draft‚ the Padres select high school catcher Mike Ivie as the number-one pick and sign him in 3 days to a $100‚000 contract

April 25, 1972

Steve Carlton fans 14 pitching a 1 hitter

May 1, 1973

Bobby Bonds delivers a walk-off three-run double to left field to complete San Francisco’s amazing come-from-behind victory

May 15, 1974

At Riverfront Stadium, Reds pitcher Roger Nelson has his no-hitter broken up by Bobby Bonds, who clubs a two-run homer in the 8th. Chris Speier homers in the 9th for the other Giants hit and Nelson finishes with a 4 – 3 win.

July 20, 1978

Chris Speier hits for the cycle and drives in six runs to lead Montreal to a 7 – 3 win over Atlanta.

September 22, 1982

Expo shortstop Chris Speier goes 3-for-5 with a club-record 8 RBI

September 25, 1985

With the score tied 4 – 4 in the bottom of the 9th, Davey Lopes walks, steals second and third base, and scores on a pinch single by Chris Speier as the Cubs beat the Mets, 5 – 4. Gary Carter’s grand slam accounts for all the Mets’ scoring. Lopes has three steals in the game to give him 47 (in just 275 at bats) and he sets the record for most stolen bases by a player over 40. The record was set by Honus Wagner in 1914 with 23. Lopes is officially recorded at 39 but when he signed at age 22 he was afraid he was too old so he set his age back a year.

May 9, 1987

After going 15 years without one, Chris Speier hits his second grand slam in a week to lead San Francisco to a 9 – 4 win over Pittsburgh. Speier also connected for a grand slam against the Cardinals on May 5th.

July 9, 1988

Chris Speier hits for the cycle and Ernest Riles hits the 10,000th home run in Giants history to lead San Francisco to a 21 – 2 rout of the Cardinals

Biography

Speier’s steady glove, bat, and all-around smart play kept him in the majors for 19 seasons, where he evolved from a twenty-one-year-old rookie into an All-Star shortstop in one season, and later settled into a role as a much-traveled and respected reserve infielder.

Speier debuted with the Giants in 1971, starting at shortstop for the NL West champions after only one season in the minors, and in 1972 Speier hit .269 with 15 HR and 71 RBI. He made the All-Star team three straight years, showing surprising power at the plate, and in 1975 he led NL shortstops with a .982 fielding percentage. His average slipped to .226 in 1976, and in 1977 he was traded to Montreal for shortstop Tim Foli.

Speier was the Expos’ starting shortstop through 1982, when he hit .257 in 156 games, but his range at shortstop was shrinking, and he began to experiment at third base as well. Speier was traded to the Cardinals for Mike Ramsey in July 1984 and sold to the Twins in August, before signing with the Cubs as a free agent. After two seasons in Chicago, he returned to his native San Francisco in 1987, where his teammates voted him the club’s annual Willie Mac award for inspirational play.

Filling in primarily at second and third base, Speier’s 11 HR in 1987 was his best output since 1973, and in May he hit two grand slams in a span of five days. Speier hit for the cycle twice, and shares the Expos record for RBI in a game (eight) with Andre Dawson and Tim Wallach. His son, Justin Speier, a right-handed hurler, made his major-league debut with the Cubs in 1998.

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@