Ron Oester

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1978-1990)

Ron Oester was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1990 for the Cincinnati Reds, a span of 13 seasons. In 1,276 career games, he hit .265 with 1,118 hits, 42 home runs, and 344 RBI.

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 .265
HR 42
RBI 344
H 1,118
OPS .679
PIV -2,713
Position
Second Baseman
Bats / Throws
B / R
Height / Weight
6'2" / 185 lb
Born
5/5/1956 in Cincinnati, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1978-09-10
Last Game
1990-10-03

Full name: Ronald John Oester

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Career Batting Statistics

Ron Oester — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,276 4,214 458 1,118 190 33 42 344 40 369 681 .265 .323 .356 .679 -2,713

Career AVG .265 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .323 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .356 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — 8.2% below league average.

Career OPS .679 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.

Ron Oester 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
1978 CIN NL 6 8 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .375 — — — — 0.0
1979 CIN NL 6 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 CIN NL 100 303 40 84 16 2 2 20 6 26 44 .277 .264 (+5%) .326 (+3%) .387 (-6%) .714 (-2%) -59.4
1981 CIN NL 105 354 45 96 16 7 5 42 2 42 49 .271 .255 (+6%) .320 (+7%) .368 (+8%) .688 (+8%) 462.2
1982 CIN NL 151 549 63 143 19 4 9 47 5 35 82 .260 .261 (avg) .324 (-6%) .388 (-8%) .712 (-7%) -651.8
1983 CIN NL 157 549 63 145 23 5 11 58 2 49 106 .264 .260 (+1%) .324 (-1%) .389 (-1%) .714 (-1%) -119.2
1984 CIN NL 150 553 54 134 26 3 3 38 7 41 97 .242 .259 (-7%) .322 (-9%) .384 (-18%) .707 (-14%) -1153.0
1985 CIN NL 152 526 59 155 26 3 1 34 5 51 65 .295 .257 (+15%) .323 (+10%) .390 (-8%) .714 (avg) 125.8
1986 CIN NL 153 523 52 135 23 2 8 44 9 52 84 .258 .257 (avg) .325 (avg) .395 (-10%) .720 (-6%) -418.3
1987 CIN NL 69 237 28 60 9 6 2 23 2 22 51 .253 .262 (-4%) .331 (-4%) .415 (-12%) .746 (-8%) -335.4
1988 CIN NL 54 150 20 42 7 0 0 10 0 9 24 .280 .254 (+10%) .317 (avg) .377 (-14%) .695 (-7%) -160.2
1989 CIN NL 109 305 23 75 15 0 1 14 1 32 47 .246 .254 (-3%) .319 (-1%) .375 (-19%) .694 (-10%) -415.9
1990 CIN NL 64 154 10 46 10 1 0 13 1 10 29 .299 .257 (+16%) .324 (+5%) .385 (-2%) .710 (+1%) 12.0
Career · 13 seasons 1,276 4,214 458 1,118 190 33 42 344 40 369 681 .265 — — — — -2,713

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

Ron Oester — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 4 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 .500

Playoff Batting by Year

Ron Oester — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1990 NLCS CIN 4 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
1990 WS CIN 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1.000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1276 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Ron Oester — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home644208925457622173.276
Away632212520454220171.255

Last 10 Games — Batting

Ron Oester — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1990-10-03 CINHOUL 212200000
1990-10-02 CINHOUW 100000020
1990-10-01 CINHOUW 311000011
1990-09-30 CINSDPL 402000001
1990-09-22 CINSDPW 101000000
1990-09-21 CINSDPW 100000001
1990-09-19 CINHOUL 100000000
1990-09-18 CINSFGL 100000000
1990-09-09 CINLADL 100000000
1990-09-07 CINLADL 100000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Ron Oester — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 1171 1092 2591 3197 116 647
3B 19 12 10 23 5 4
SS 71 35 74 130 4 24

Season-by-Season Fielding

Ron Oester — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1978 CIN SS 6 1 3 9 0 2
1979 CIN SS 2 0 1 2 0 0
1980 CIN 2B 79 71 144 194 7 42
1980 CIN 3B 3 1 1 3 1 0
1980 CIN SS 17 8 16 27 2 4
1981 CIN 2B 103 100 202 328 11 61
1981 CIN SS 9 2 11 13 0 3
1982 CIN 2B 118 109 258 325 17 72
1982 CIN 3B 13 10 9 18 3 4
1982 CIN SS 29 20 37 60 2 11
1983 CIN 2B 154 152 315 413 17 80
1984 CIN 2B 147 140 357 388 15 75
1984 CIN SS 1 0 0 0 0 0
1985 CIN 2B 149 148 366 457 9 100
1986 CIN 2B 151 148 367 475 19 100
1987 CIN 2B 69 66 183 186 10 37
1988 CIN 2B 49 40 108 104 1 24
1988 CIN SS 5 2 2 9 0 2
1989 CIN 2B 102 85 211 239 7 42
1989 CIN SS 2 2 4 10 0 2
1990 CIN 2B 50 33 80 88 3 14
1990 CIN 3B 3 1 0 2 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Ron Oester Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Second Base 1172
Third Base 20
Shortstop 71

Awards & Honors

Ron Oester — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1988 Hutch Award

Salary History

Ron Oester — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1990 CIN NL $650,000
1989 CIN NL $650,000
1987 CIN NL $750,000
1986 CIN NL $650,000
1985 CIN NL $550,000
Total Career Earnings $3,250,000

Award Voting History

Ron Oester — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1980 Rookie of the Year NL 4th 16.0 120 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Ron Oester (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Frankie Gustine
    .265 avg, 38 HR
  2. 97
    Danny O'Connell
    .260 avg, 39 HR
  3. 95
    Chris Gomez
    .262 avg, 60 HR
  4. 94
    Ricky Gutierrez
    .266 avg, 38 HR
  5. 94
    Jim Davenport
    .258 avg, 77 HR
  6. 92
    Jerry Lumpe
    .268 avg, 47 HR

Ron Oester: the record in brief

September 10, 1978 and October 3, 1990 bracket Ron Oester's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Oester spent the whole of the career shown here with one club, the Cincinnati Reds. Oester played primarily as a second baseman and switch-hit and threw right-handed. Born on May 5, 1956, in Cincinnati, OH, USA, Oester was listed at 6 feet, 2 inches and 185 pounds. The given name on file is Ronald John Oester.

Across 1,276 games at the plate, Oester's career line reads 1,118 hits in 4,214 at bats for a .265 average, adding 42 homers, 344 RBI, and 40 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .323 and .356 give Oester a career OPS of .679. The .265 career average is close to the .259 the league hit across the same seasons. No season beat the 11 home runs Oester hit in 1983. 1985 produced Oester's most hits, 155 of them for the Cincinnati Reds. Among the seasons with the heaviest workload, the best average was .295 in 1985, 15% above that year's league mark of .257.

Frequently Asked Questions about Ron Oester

What years did Ron Oester play?
Ron Oester played in Major League Baseball from 1978 to 1990.
Was Ron Oester a pitcher?
No. Ron Oester was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Ron Oester hit?
Ron Oester hit 42 career home runs with 1118 hits.
What was Ron Oester's career batting average?
Ron Oester batted .265 over his career, with 1,118 hits in 4,214 at bats.
How many RBI did Ron Oester have?
Ron Oester drove in 344 runs in his career.
Is Ron Oester in the Hall of Fame?
No. Ron Oester has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.