Speier accrued a career .246 batting average and a .970 fielding percentage at shortstop. His overall playing strengths were solid fielding and a 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.
He hit for the cycle twice in his major league career,on July 20,1978,as a member of the Montreal Expos in a 7-3 victory over the Atlanta Braves at Montreal and nearly 10 years later on July 9,1988,as a member of the San Francisco Giants in a 21-2 rout of the St. Louis Cardinals at Candlestick Park.
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.[4] 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.[5]
Speier also played 185 games at third base, 138 at second base, and 2 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.
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.[6] The school was not accredited by the state nor was it affiliated with the local diocese.
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