Rick Schu

{{short description|American baseball player and coach (born 1962)}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Rick Schu

|image=Rick Schu (19594765065) (cropped).jpg

|caption=Schu with the Washington Nationals in 2015

|team=

|number=

|position=Third baseman

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{Birth date and age|1962|1|26}}

|birth_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 1

|debutyear=1984

|debutteam=Philadelphia Phillies

|debut2league = NPB

|debut2date=April 10

|debut2year=1993

|debut2team=Nippon Ham Fighters

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=August 14

|finalyear=1996

|finalteam=Montreal Expos

|final2league = NPB

|final2date=October 4

|final2year=1994

|final2team=Nippon Ham Fighters

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Batting average

|stat1value=.246

|stat2label=Home runs

|stat2value=41

|stat3label=Runs batted in

|stat3value=134

|stat2league = NPB

|stat21label=Batting average

|stat21value=.257

|stat22label=Home runs

|stat22value=38

|stat23label=Runs batted in

|stat23value=124

|teams=

As player

Philadelphia Phillies ({{mlby|1984}}–{{mlby|1987}})
Baltimore Orioles ({{mlby|1988}}–{{mlby|1989}})
Detroit Tigers ({{mlby|1989}})
California Angels ({{mlby|1990}})
Philadelphia Phillies ({{mlby|1991}})
Nippon Ham Fighters ({{npby|1993}}–{{npby|1994}})
Montreal Expos ({{mlby|1996}})

As coach

Arizona Diamondbacks ({{mlby|2004}}, {{mlby|2007}}–{{mlby|2009}})
Washington Nationals ({{mlby|2013}}–{{mlby|2017}})
San Francisco Giants ({{mlby|2018}}–{{mlby|2019}})

}}

Richard Spencer Schu (born January 26, 1962) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and coach who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies ({{by|1984}}–{{by|1987}}, {{by|1991}}), Baltimore Orioles ({{by|1988}}–{{by|1989}}), Detroit Tigers ({{by|1989}}), California Angels ({{by|1990}}), and Montreal Expos ({{by|1996}}). Schu also played in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Nippon Ham Fighters ({{by|1993}}–{{by|1994}}).

Playing career

Schu grew up in Fair Oaks, California, and was signed as an amateur free agent out of Del Campo High School by the Philadelphia Phillies.

Schu made his Major League debut at Veterans Stadium on September 1, 1984, starting at third base for the Phillies, and went 0-3. He returned to the major leagues in May 1985 after hitting .284 for the Portland Beavers, and replaced future Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt at third base, with Schmidt moving to first. After Schu hit .252 with seven home runs in 1985 and 1986, Schmidt returned to third and Schu became a bench player.{{cite book |title=Mike Schmidt: Philadelphia's Hall of Fame third baseman|last=Kashatus |first=William C. |year=2000 |publisher=McFarland & Company, Inc. |location=Jefferson, North Carolina|isbn=0-7864-0713-1 |page=94 }} After four seasons with the Phillies, he joined the Baltimore Orioles, and played for them, the Detroit Tigers and the California Angels before returning to Philadelphia in 1991.

Coaching career

On July 11, 2007, Schu replaced Kevin Seitzer as the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.{{cite web |url=http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070711&content_id=2082431&vkey=pr_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610131839/http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20070711&content_id=2082431&vkey=pr_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 10, 2011 |title=Schu replaces Seitzer as D-backs hitting coach |access-date=2007-07-11 |date=2007-07-11 |work=MLB.com}} Schu continued in this role until May 7, 2009.

On November 4, 2009, the Washington Nationals announced the hiring of Schu to be an organizational hitting instructor. He became their hitting coach on Monday July 22, 2013 after the Nationals fired Rick Eckstein.{{Cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/13814518/washington-nationals-fire-manager-matt-williams|title=Nats dismiss manager Williams, coaching staff|date=October 5, 2015|website=ESPN.com}} His contract expired after the 2017 season.{{cite web|url=https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/10/dusty-baker-will-not-return-as-nationals-manager-in-2018.html|title=Dusty Baker Will Not Return As Nationals' Manager In 2018|work=MLB Trade Rumors|date=October 20, 2017|access-date=October 20, 2017|first=Steve|last=Adams}} On November 9, 2017, Schu was hired as the assistant hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants.{{cite web|author=Ken Rosenthal |url=https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/928587659450224640 |title=Ken Rosenthal on Twitter: "Rick Schu new assistant hitting coach for #SFGiants, sources tell The Athletic. Previously #Nationals hitting coach." |publisher=Twitter.com |access-date=2019-11-14}}