Ken Oberkfell

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1977-1992)

Ken Oberkfell was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1992 for 6 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,602 career games, he hit .278 with 1,354 hits, 29 home runs, and 446 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,169.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .278
HR 29
RBI 446
H 1,354
OPS .713
PIV 2,169
Position
Third Baseman
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 175 lb
Born
5/4/1956 in Highland, IL, USA
MLB Debut
1977-08-22
Last Game
1992-10-04

Full name: Kenneth Ray Oberkfell

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Career Batting Statistics

Ken Oberkfell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,602 4,874 558 1,354 237 44 29 446 62 546 356 .278 .351 .362 .713 2,169

Career AVG .278 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — +7.2% above league average.

Career OBP .351 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +8.1% above league average.

Career SLG .362 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 6.6% below league average.

Career OPS .713 vs. league average .712 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Ken Oberkfell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1977 SLN NL 9 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .111 — — — — 0.0
1978 SLN NL 24 50 7 6 1 0 0 0 0 3 1 .120 .257 (-53%) .323 (-48%) .378 (-63%) .702 (-56%) -432.4
1979 SLN NL 135 369 53 111 19 5 1 35 4 57 35 .301 .265 (+13%) .329 (+20%) .397 (-3%) .727 (+8%) 823.4
1980 SLN NL 116 422 58 128 27 6 3 46 4 51 23 .303 .264 (+15%) .326 (+16%) .387 (+8%) .714 (+11%) 1011.4
1981 SLN NL 102 376 43 110 12 6 2 45 13 37 28 .293 .255 (+14%) .320 (+10%) .368 (+1%) .688 (+5%) 394.9
1982 SLN NL 137 470 55 136 22 5 2 34 11 40 31 .289 .261 (+11%) .324 (+6%) .388 (-5%) .712 (avg) 91.0
1983 SLN NL 151 488 62 143 26 5 3 38 12 61 27 .293 .260 (+12%) .324 (+14%) .389 (-1%) .714 (+6%) 761.0
1984 SLN NL 50 152 17 47 11 1 0 11 1 16 10 .309 .259 (+19%) .322 (+17%) .384 (+3%) .707 (+9%) 289.8
1984 ATL NL 50 172 21 40 8 1 1 10 1 15 17 .233 .259 (-11%) .322 (-10%) .384 (-20%) .707 (-16%) 289.8
1985 ATL NL 134 412 30 112 19 4 3 35 1 51 38 .272 .257 (+6%) .323 (+11%) .390 (-8%) .714 (+1%) 234.6
1986 ATL NL 151 503 62 136 24 3 5 48 7 83 40 .270 .257 (+5%) .325 (+15%) .395 (-9%) .720 (+2%) 509.0
1987 ATL NL 135 508 59 142 29 2 3 48 3 48 29 .280 .262 (+6%) .331 (+3%) .415 (-13%) .746 (-6%) -395.6
1988 ATL NL 120 422 42 117 20 4 3 40 4 32 28 .277 .254 (+9%) .317 (+2%) .377 (-3%) .695 (-1%) -89.5
1988 PIT NL 20 54 7 12 2 0 0 2 0 5 6 .222 .254 (-13%) .317 (-9%) .377 (-31%) .695 (-21%) -89.5
1989 PIT NL 14 40 2 5 1 0 0 2 0 2 2 .125 — — — — 0.0
1989 SFN NL 83 116 17 37 5 1 2 15 0 8 8 .319 .254 (+26%) .319 (+15%) .375 (+15%) .694 (+15%) 0.0
1990 HOU NL 77 150 10 31 6 1 1 12 1 15 17 .207 .257 (-20%) .324 (-13%) .385 (-27%) .710 (-21%) -484.0
1991 HOU NL 53 70 7 16 4 0 0 14 0 14 8 .229 .255 (-11%) .323 (+10%) .384 (-26%) .708 (-9%) -47.1
1992 CAL AL 41 91 6 24 1 0 0 10 0 8 5 .264 .255 (+3%) .322 (-2%) .377 (-27%) .699 (-15%) -204.2
Career · 19 seasons 1,602 4,874 558 1,354 237 44 29 446 62 546 356 .278 — — — — 2,663

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Ken Oberkfell — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
17 49 6 12 1 0 0 3 5 1 .245

Playoff Batting by Year

Ken Oberkfell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1989 NLCS SFN 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1989 WS SFN 4 6 1 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 .333
1982 NLCS SLN 3 15 1 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 .200
1982 WS SLN 7 24 4 7 1 0 0 1 2 1 .292

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1602 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Ken Oberkfell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home814237830667711241.285
Away788249625267718205.271

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ken Oberkfell — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1992-10-04 LAATEXL 211000010
1992-10-02 LAATEXW 200000010
1992-10-01 LAAKCRW 402000000
1992-09-30 LAAKCRL 401000001
1992-09-28 LAAKCRW 513000310
1992-09-23 LAAMILL 301000000
1992-09-22 LAAMILL 000000000
1992-09-20 LAAMINL 301000000
1992-09-18 LAAMINL 300000001
1992-09-17 LAAMINL 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ken Oberkfell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 43 28 261 22 2 21
2B 402 310 683 979 27 192
3B 1046 924 627 1996 96 180
SS 8 0 2 6 0 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ken Oberkfell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1977 SLN 2B 6 1 3 4 0 1
1978 SLN 2B 17 14 30 48 1 8
1978 SLN 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0
1979 SLN 2B 117 96 213 323 8 65
1979 SLN 3B 17 7 10 19 1 2
1979 SLN SS 2 0 0 1 0 0
1980 SLN 2B 101 100 223 310 6 62
1980 SLN 3B 16 13 4 30 1 2
1981 SLN 3B 102 101 77 246 15 23
1981 SLN SS 1 0 0 1 0 0
1982 SLN 2B 1 0 2 1 0 0
1982 SLN 3B 135 131 78 304 11 23
1983 SLN 2B 32 21 51 69 5 16
1983 SLN 3B 127 107 79 231 13 27
1983 SLN SS 1 0 2 3 0 1
1984 SLN 2B 2 0 1 1 0 0
1984 SLN 3B 46 39 29 90 4 7
1984 SLN SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1984 ATL 2B 4 3 3 5 0 0
1984 ATL 3B 45 45 31 77 4 8
1985 ATL 2B 16 12 18 37 1 7
1985 ATL 3B 117 101 70 220 11 19
1986 ATL 2B 41 19 51 77 3 15
1986 ATL 3B 130 119 65 258 8 24
1987 ATL 2B 11 5 13 17 0 3
1987 ATL 3B 126 120 76 248 7 20
1988 ATL 2B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1988 ATL 3B 113 109 83 207 15 21
1988 PIT 1B 1 1 7 0 0 0
1988 PIT 2B 11 10 15 24 0 3
1988 PIT 3B 2 2 1 5 0 0
1988 PIT SS 3 0 0 1 0 0
1989 PIT 1B 9 9 75 5 1 4
1989 PIT 2B 3 2 5 5 0 1
1989 SFN 1B 7 3 35 2 0 4
1989 SFN 2B 7 3 8 10 2 1
1989 SFN 3B 38 8 8 25 1 1
1990 HOU 1B 11 7 69 7 1 7
1990 HOU 2B 11 7 12 14 0 6
1990 HOU 3B 24 18 12 31 3 3
1991 HOU 1B 13 7 66 8 0 6
1991 HOU 3B 4 4 4 5 2 0
1992 CAL 1B 2 1 9 0 0 0
1992 CAL 2B 21 17 34 34 1 4

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ken Oberkfell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 43
Second Base 403
Third Base 1048
Shortstop 8
Designated Hitter 5

Salary History

Ken Oberkfell's recorded salaries total $4,916,667 over 7 seasons, 1985 to 1991. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Oberkfell's career ran from 1977 to 1992. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1992.

Ken Oberkfell — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1991 HOU NL $675,000
1990 HOU NL $625,000
1989 PIT NL $725,000
1988 ATL NL $725,000
1987 ATL NL $725,000
1986 ATL NL $825,000
1985 ATL NL $616,667
Total recorded salary (partial) $4,916,667

College History

Ken Oberkfell — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Southwestern Illinois College Belleville IL 1975

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Ken Oberkfell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Bernie Friberg
    .281 avg, 38 HR
  2. 93
    Ron Hunt
    .273 avg, 39 HR
  3. 91
    Johnny Temple
    .284 avg, 22 HR
  4. 91
    David Eckstein
    .280 avg, 35 HR
  5. 89
    Jody Reed
    .270 avg, 27 HR
  6. 88
    Phil Rizzuto HOF
    .273 avg, 38 HR

Ken Oberkfell: the record in brief

August 22, 1977 and October 4, 1992 bracket Ken Oberkfell's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The team column moves through the St. Louis Cardinals (1977 to 1984), the Atlanta Braves (1984 to 1988), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1988 to 1989), the San Francisco Giants (1989), the Houston Astros (1990 to 1991), and the California Angels (1992). Born on May 4, 1956, in Highland, IL, USA, Oberkfell is listed as a third baseman and batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Size on record: 6'0" and 175 pounds. On the record, Ken Oberkfell was born Kenneth Ray Oberkfell.

Oberkfell finished with 1,354 hits from 4,874 at bats in 1,602 games, which works out to .278, plus 29 homers, 446 runs batted in, and 62 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .351 clip and slugging .362, Oberkfell finished with a .713 OPS. Set against a .259 league average for the same years, Oberkfell's .278 average sits 7.2% above it. The highest hit total in a season was 143, in 1983.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ken Oberkfell

What years did Ken Oberkfell play?
Ken Oberkfell played in Major League Baseball from 1977 to 1992.
Was Ken Oberkfell a pitcher?
No. Ken Oberkfell was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Ken Oberkfell hit?
Ken Oberkfell hit 29 career home runs with 1,354 hits.
What teams did Ken Oberkfell play for?
Ken Oberkfell played for 6 teams: the St. Louis Cardinals (1977–1984), the Atlanta Braves (1984–1988), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1988–1989), the San Francisco Giants (1989), the Houston Astros (1990–1991), and the California Angels (1992).
What were Ken Oberkfell's career stats?
In 1,602 games, Ken Oberkfell had 1,354 hits, 29 home runs, 446 RBI, 558 runs, and 62 stolen bases, with a .278 batting average.
How much did Ken Oberkfell earn in his career?
Ken Oberkfell's recorded salaries total $4,916,667 over 7 seasons, 1985 to 1991. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Oberkfell's career ran from 1977 to 1992. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1992.
What was Ken Oberkfell's salary?
Ken Oberkfell's last recorded salary was $675,000, in 1991. His highest recorded salary was $825,000, in 1986, and his lowest was $616,667, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1991.
What position did Ken Oberkfell play?
Ken Oberkfell played primarily as a third baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Ken Oberkfell and how much did he weigh?
Ken Oberkfell was listed at 6 feet and 175 pounds.
How many home runs did Ken Oberkfell hit each season?
Ken Oberkfell's home runs by season: 0 in 1977, 0 in 1978, 1 in 1979, 3 in 1980, 2 in 1981, 2 in 1982, 3 in 1983, 1 in 1984, 3 in 1985, 5 in 1986, 3 in 1987, 3 in 1988, 2 in 1989, 1 in 1990, 0 in 1991, and 0 in 1992. His most in one season was 5, in 1986.
What was Ken Oberkfell's career batting average?
Ken Oberkfell batted .278 over his career, with 1,354 hits in 4,874 at bats.
How many RBI did Ken Oberkfell have?
Ken Oberkfell drove in 446 runs in his career.
Is Ken Oberkfell in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ken Oberkfell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.