Ron Oester

Ronald John Oester was born in Cincinnati on May 5, 1956, and spent his entire big-league career with his hometown Reds, from 1978 through 1990. A second baseman, he was drafted by Cincinnati in the ninth round of the amateur draft and debuted on September 10, 1978. His final game came on October 3, 1990.

Oester finished fourth in Rookie of the Year balloting in 1980. He was one of the few major leaguers who refused to wear batting gloves, a habit that led to persistent blisters that, according to teammates, sometimes became deep palm wounds. In 1984 he put together a career-best 21-game hitting streak, and the following year he posted a personal-high .295 batting average.

During a July 5, 1987 game at Riverfront Stadium, New York Mets outfielder Mookie Wilson slid hard into second base on a double-play attempt. Oester’s cleats caught in the turf during the collision, tearing the ACL in his left knee. He did not return to action until July 16, 1988, and his comeback earned him the Hutch Award.

Oester was part of the 1990 Reds club that beat the Oakland Athletics in the World Series. Though he lost the starting second-base job to Mariano Duncan that season, he became one of the team’s top pinch hitters, batting .299 during the regular season and going 2-for-4 (.500) in the postseason. His final major league plate appearance produced a hit that drove in Joe Oliver in Game 2, keeping Cincinnati in a game they eventually won 5–4 in 10 innings.

Baseball analyst Bill James called Oester “a quiet, efficient player who was always overlooked.” He finished his career with a .265 batting average and a 10.9 WAR.

After retiring, Oester served as the Reds’ third base coach. In 2001 he was offered the club’s managerial job but turned it down because the salary was below market average. Withrow High School, his alma mater, renovated and renamed its baseball field in his honor. Oester was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2014.