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Q&A
Ex-Reds fan favorite Oester gets back to baseball basics
Monday, July 02, 2007
XENIA — Ron Oester still wears No. 16 with CINCINNATI across the chest, but it is a blue jersey these days.
The former Reds second baseman and minor-league field coordinator manages baseball at the grass-roots level for the Cincinnati Steam. The Steam plays in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, a wooden-bat showcase for 18- to 20-year-old college players.
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"He brings so much knowledge to the diamond," said Steam centerfielder-cleanup hitter Zach Hurley of Springboro, who plays at Ohio State. "I'm picking his brain a little bit. I'll ask him a complicated question and he answers it in simple terms."
Prior to serving up batting practice at Xenia's Athletes In Action Stadium last Tuesday, Oester, 51, fielded questions about his new gig, his beloved Cincinnati Reds and finding the sweet spot with the wooden bat.
Q What is it like coaching your son Jake (Cincinnati McNicholas standout and Toledo-bound shortstop) and the other young players in the GLSCL?
A It's been a blast. You do see the game from a different angle, but it's still hitting, pitching and defense. I still learn something about the game every day. That's what I tell my players — learn something new every day. It's a great developmental league and a good brand of baseball that draws some professional scouts. It compares to a low Class A (minor) league.
Q The biggest adjustments for these players is going from metal to wood. What's the secret?
A The big thing is to get the bat started, get it moving, ready to hit. If you don't, you're in trouble. With the metal, you don't have to load up and you get by with mistakes and get cheap hits. The best I saw at swinging the wood was Paul Molitor, who was a freak of nature and had the quickest hands I've ever seen. He didn't have to load up because of that.
Q You spent 27 years with the Reds organization. Obviously you feel a kinship with them. What are your thoughts on seeing them at the bottom of the standings with the worst record in baseball?
A It's sad. It hurts. I will always be a Reds fan at heart. I just don't know what's going on down there. I don't know if it's lack of motivation or what. They need to build some momentum and do it quickly, win six or seven games in a row. I don't know. It might be too late.
Q Can a small-market team compete against the big-market teams? There's such an imbalance with the payrolls.
A It's not so much that. You look at their roster and on paper they should be competitive and compete with anybody. They blame the bullpen for much of their failures, but you can find ways around that, work around that, like pitching different people in different situations.
Q You were a hard-nosed, no-nonsense, feisty player. Does that carry over to your managerial style? Your GM Max McLeary said you're actually mild-mannered.
A I'm laid-back and easy-going. I want my players to be aggressive, though. I don't like the bunt. You do that in Little League. I want them hitting and swinging the wood bat. That's the focus. I'm not going to take the bat out of their hands. I like the hit-and-run, stealing bases and making things happen.
Q You're instructing and teaching young players and preparing them for the next level. Would you like to return to the pro ranks as a coach or manager? Is the lure still there?
A I would if the right opportunity comes along. In the meantime, I enjoy what I'm doing here with the Steam. Seeing them playing hard and improving every day is a thrill.
Q You were offered the Reds managerial job in 2001. Then, through the negotiation process, and a communications foul-up, the offer was pulled out from under you and they gave it to Bob Boone. (Oester figured he should negotiate for a little more than the below-market, two-year contract of $650,000). Do you still feel the sting of that?
A No regrets. I'd do the same thing over again. I wasn't treated fairly and the person I dealt with (then-general manager Jim Bowden) knows I wasn't treated fairly. It was a big downer in my life at the time, but I'm past that.
Oester file
Name: Ron Oester
Claim to fame: Played second base for the Cincinnati Reds from 1978-90 with a .265 lifetime batting average. Spent 27 of his 31 years in pro baseball with the Reds organization (also as a coach and minor-league field coordinator); A Cincinnati native and Withrow High School graduate.
Current position: Manager of the Cincinnati Steam of the wooden-bat Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.
