Ron Oester

Ronald John Oester (born May 5, 1956) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played his entire MLB career with the Cincinnati Reds from 1978 to 1990. He is a native of Cincinnati.

Drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 9th round of the 1974 MLB amateur draft, Oester made his debut with the Reds on September 10, 1978, and appeared in his final game on October 3, 1990.

Oester was one of the few major leaguers who did not wear batting gloves. He perpetually developed blisters on his hands, and according to teammates, they would develop into deep wounds on his palms.

In 1984 Oester had a career best 21 game hitting streak. In 1985 he had a .295 batting average, a career high.

On July 5, 1987, during a Mets-Reds game at Riverfront Stadium, the New York Mets' Mookie Wilson slid hard into second base during a double-play attempt. During the slide, Oester, who was playing second, collided with Wilson. His cleats got caught in the turf, and he tore his left ACL. Oester did not return to action until July 16, 1988. For his comeback from this injury, Oester earned the Hutch Award

Oester was a member of the Cincinnati Reds team that defeated the Oakland Athletics in the 1990 World Series. Although he lost the starting second baseman job to Mariano Duncan that season, Oester was one of the team's top pinch hitters, hitting .299 that season and going 2-for-4 (.500) in the postseason.

Bill James described him as "a quiet, efficient player who was always overlooked".

In 2001, while serving as the Reds third base coach, Oester was offered the job of manager of the club. As the offer was below the market average, Oester turned it down.

Withron High School, which Oester attended, renovated and renamed its field in honor of him.

Oester was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2014