#CardCorner: 1987 Fleer Ken Oberkfell

One of only 13 Expansion Era (post-1960) players with at least 1,600 games played and fewer than 30 home runs, Ken Oberkfell proved to be a perfect fit on the 1980s Cardinals teams that emphasized contact, speed and defense.

That perfect fit also applied to the 1982 World Series ring that Oberkfell helped St. Louis earn in 1982.

Born May 4, 1956, in Highland, Ill., just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Oberkfell grew up down the road in the East St. Louis, Ill., suburb of Troy and went to high school in Collinsville. He was named to St. Louis Post-Dispatch All-Metro baseball team in 1974 as shortstop after hitting .444 with 21 RBI and 21 runs scored over 81 at-bats for Collinsville High School.

But Oberkfell went undrafted following his 1974 high school graduation and enrolled at Southwestern Illinois College – then called Belleville Area College – in Belleville, Ill.

“He’s definitely the best infielder I’ve had the pleasure of watching in high school,” Collinsworth High School coach Terry Smith told the Edwardsville (Ill.) Intelligencer in 1977, “and I was really disappointed Kenny wasn’t drafted out of high school. His mental attitude was as good as his physical skills. He was always one of those players who went about his business.”

Oberkfell hit .400 in the spring of 1975 and was named to the first-team squad of the NJCAA All-America team. On May 4, 1975 – his 19th birthday – Oberkfell signed with the Cardinals as an amateur free agent about 48 hours after his final game with Belleville Area College.

“(Cardinals scout Fred McCallister) just came up (after Belleville Area College was eliminated from district play) and said he was a scout for the Cardinals,” Oberkfell told the News-Democrat in 1978. “Before I knew it, I was at the ballpark and signed in a matter of two days.”

Originally ticketed for the Cardinals’ Gulf Coast League team in Sarasota, Fla., Oberkfell earned an immediate promotion to Johnson City of the Appalachian League and hit .352 in 17 games before being sent to St. Petersburg of the Class A Florida State League. There, Oberkfell hit .351 in 41 games.

“The big difference between the pitchers I faced at (Belleview Area College) and the ones in the minors was control,” Oberkfell told the Belleview News-Democrat in the spring of 1976. “The professional pitchers don’t throw any harder, but they really work the corners.”

In 1976, the Cardinals sent Oberkfell to Double-A Arkansas, where he hit .287 with a .373 on-base percentage in 128 games while transitioning from shortstop to second base. Then in 1977, Oberkfell was assigned to Triple-A New Orleans, where he hit .251 and befriended a veteran infielder near the end of his playing career named Tony La Russa.

“I’ll see Tony and he’ll say: ‘You were the prospect, I was the suspect,’” Oberkfell told the News-Democrat in 2008. “Now he’s a Hall of Fame manager and I’m just a coach.”

The Cardinals called up Oberkfell on Aug. 20, 1977, when they traded Don Kessinger to the White Sox, and Oberkfell made his big league debut on Aug. 22 as a pinch-hitter against the Dodgers, flying out to center field against Burt Hooton. He collected his first hit in the Cardinals’ final game of the season, singling off the Mets’ Pat Zachry.

“He’s one of our outstanding minor leaguers,” Cardinals general manager Bing Devine told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about Oberkfell upon his promotion to the big leagues. “He’s sure-handed and swings a pretty good bat against right-handers.”

The lefty-swinging Oberkfell appeared in nine games with the Cardinals down the stretch and was thought by many to have a shot at cracking St. Louis’ Opening Day roster in 1978. He found himself in competition with Tom Herr as both tried to unseat veteran second baseman Mike Tyson, who held on to the job and started at second base on Opening Day.

Oberkfell, meanwhile, was sent to Triple-A Springfield, where he hit .293 before being recalled to St. Louis in July. He had actually been recalled in June but had not appeared in a game before being sent down again, and he bounced between Triple-A and St. Louis during the rest of the year, batting .120 in 24 games with the Cardinals.

In 1979, manager Ken Boyer put Oberkfell on the Opening Day roster, and he was soon platooning with the right-handed hitting Tyson at second base. He finished the season batting .301 with 57 walks in 135 games, good for a .396 on-base percentage. Had he accumulated enough plate appearances to qualify, Oberkfell would have ranked fourth in OBP in the National League. He also led all NL second basemen with a .985 fielding percentage.

In 1980, Oberkfell was the Cardinals’ Opening Day second baseman but suffered a knee injury in May which cost him six weeks on the disabled list. He finished the season batting .303 with a .377 OBP and 27 doubles in 116 games.

Then in 1981, manager Whitey Herzog – who took over the Cardinals midway through the 1980 campaign – moved Oberkfell to third base and put Herr at second base. Third base opened up when incumbent Ken Reitz was traded to the Cubs in a deal that brought Bruce Sutter to St. Louis.

“I don’t expect any problem making the move (to third base),” Oberkfell told the News-Democrat prior to Spring Training in 1981. “I’m not going to miss getting injured like last year (Oberkfell was injured at second base when the Dodgers’ Steve Garvey was attempting to break up a double play). I won’t have guys coming in and cutting my legs on double plays anymore.”

Oberkfell put up what were his typical numbers in 1981: Hitting .293 with 45 RBI and even stealing a career-high 13 bases. The Cardinals had the most wins of any National League East team but did not win either the first or second half title and missed the playoffs.

Oberkfell had signed a one-year contract prior to the 1981 season, betting on himself instead of pursuing a multi-year deal. Heading into the 1982 season, Oberkfell and the Cardinals avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a one-year contract worth $350,000, splitting the difference between his $400,000 request and the team’s $300,000 offer.

But on March 30 – just a week before the start of the 1982 season – Oberkfell broke his left thumb diving for a ball hit by Pittsburgh’s Lee Lacy in an exhibition game. The injury sidelined Oberkfell for two weeks but the Cardinals were 11-3 in that span, setting the stage for a season where they would win their first National League East title. Oberkfell hit .289 in 137 games and led all NL third basemen with a .972 fielding percentage.

In the NLCS vs. the Braves, Oberkfell had an RBI single in a five-run sixth inning that broke Game 1 open in a 7-0 St. Louis win. Then in Game 2, Oberkfell’s bottom-of-the-ninth single off Gene Garber – the ball just eluded Braves’ center fielder Brett Butler – scored David Green to give St. Louis a 4-3 win and command of the series. The Cardinals won Game 3 the next day – Oberkfell recorded another single – to advance to the World Series.

“Hitter vs. pitcher averages are irrelevant,” Garber – who had allowed six hits in 10 at-bats against Oberkfell prior to Oberkfell’s game-winning hit in Game 2 – told the Philadelphia Daily News. “What happened (in Game 2) was just baseball. We’re not robots. It doesn’t operate that way.”

Oberkfell added seven more hits in the World Series – including a key RBI single in Game 2 and a run scored later in the same game that helped the Cardinals rally to win 5-4 – as St. Louis defeated Milwaukee in seven games.

Oberkfell signed a three-year deal with the Cardinals prior to the 1983 season, a move that seemingly cemented St. Louis’ infield for years to come. But during a tumultuous 1983 campaign that saw the Cardinals lose 83 games, stalwart first baseman Keith Hernandez was traded to the Mets. That same year, top prospect Andy Van Slyke debuted in St. Louis, playing 30 games at third base as Herzog tried to find a spot for him in the lineup.

Oberkfell, meanwhile, appeared in 151 games but only 127 at third base while playing 32 games at second base. He hit .293 with what would be a career-best 143 hits, once again leading the league in fielding percentage at third base with a mark of .960. But with Van Slyke already on the scene and prospect Terry Pendleton on the way, Oberkfell found himself in a numbers crunch.

Oberkfell was hitting .309 in 50 games through June 14, 1984, when the Cardinals traded him to the Braves for pitcher Ken Dayley and first baseman Mike Jorgensen. The Cardinals immediately announced that Van Slyke would take Oberkfell’s spot at third base.

“Obie’s one of the best people I’ve ever met,” Herzog told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch after the trade. “I’m talking about 30 years in baseball. He’s a thoroughbred.”

The trade and the Hernandez deal a year earlier broke up an infield of Ozzie Smith, Tom Herr, Hernandez and Oberkfell that Sports Illustrated once called “the greatest infield of all time.”

“It’s kind of sad,” Herr told the Post-Dispatch after Oberkfell was traded. “Right after that story and picture ran, things began to kind of unravel with the world’s greatest infield.”

Oberkfell stepped into the Braves’ lineup at third base for the injured Bob Horner and appeared in 50 games, then broke his thumb while playing second base against the Cubs on Aug. 26, ending his season. In 100 combined games that year, Oberkfell hit .269. He was the Braves’ Opening Day third baseman in 1985 and appeared in 134 games while hitting .272.

Following the 1985 season, Oberkfell signed a new four-year deal with the Braves worth a reported $3 million. Not surprisingly, Braves manager Chuck Tanner indicated Oberkfell would be the team’s starting third baseman on Opening Day in 1986. But Tanner and the Braves also tried a number of players out at third base during the spring, including Billy Sample, Rafael Ramírez, outfield prospect Brad Komminsk and even future Hall of Fame catcher Ted Simmons. Oberkfell held onto the job and appeared in 151 total games that year, batting .270 with 83 walks for a .373 on-base percentage.

“He’s been our steadiest player,” Braves general manager Bobby Cox told the Atlanta Journal during the 1986 season. “He doesn’t do anything real spectacular. He’s the kind of guy, at the end of the season, you say: ‘Gawd, he really helped us win.’”

Oberkfell hit .280 with a career-best 29 doubles and 48 RBI (tying the career-high total he had in 1986) in 1987, once again getting the bulk of the team’s playing time at third base. Then in 1988, Oberkfell was hitting .277 over 120 games when the Braves, who platooned him at third base for much of the year with right-handed hitting Jim Morrison, traded him to Pittsburgh on Aug. 28. The Braves received a player to be named later who became outfielder Tommy Gregg.

“I have no hard feelings against the Braves, but I’m happy to be a Pittsburgh Pirate,” Oberkfell told the Atlanta Constitution. “I don’t think Pittsburgh got me for just the last month. I’ve got another year on my contract left.”

Oberkfell hit .222 in 20 games for Pittsburgh as a utility player before opening the 1989 season in the same role. On May 10, the Pirates traded Oberkfell to the Giants for pitcher Roger Samuels.

“The trade was a shock, but I’m happy to be a Giant,” Oberkfell told the AP. “I’ll probably play more there than I was playing here.”

In fact, Oberkfell maintained his utility role status in San Francisco and made 26 of his 29 final appearances that season as a pinch-hitter. But by batting .319 over 83 games, Oberkfell was a key contributor to the Giants’ NL West title that year. He appeared in three games in the NLCS vs. the Cubs as a pinch-hitter, going hitless. But the Giants advanced to the World Series, where Oberkfell played in all four games, starting the final two contests at third base while going 2-for-6 with three walks in Oakland’s sweep of San Francisco.

Following the 1989 season, Oberkfell signed a two-year, $1.5 million contract with Houston that called for an option for a third year. He became a respected bench bat with the Astros, coming to the plate 37 times as a pinch-hitter in 1990 and 38 times in 1991 before Houston released him on July 27.

“When you go up there (as a pinch-hitter),” Oberkfell told the AP, “you can either be Billy the Kid or Billy the Goat.”

Oberkfell did not play again in 1991 after the Astros released him but agreed to a minor league deal with the Angels on Feb. 2, 1992. He began the season with Triple-A Edmonton after battling a shoulder injury in Spring Training and was hitting .282 in 61 games – mostly as a DH – when the Angels brought him back to the big leagues on July 9. He spent much of the rest of the season coming off the bench before playing most of the final two weeks as California’s starting second baseman.

In what would turn out to be his final plate appearance of his MLB career, Oberkfell drew a walk off Texas’ Kevin Brown on Oct. 4, 1992, in the season’s final game. When the Angels declined to offer Oberkfell arbitration following the season, he became a free agent. When he found no suitable offers, Oberkfell retired.

He considered returning to the game during the work stoppage in 1995 as a replacement player with the Phillies but at the last moment decided against it. That same year, he debuted as a manager with Sullivan of the independent Northeast League before skippering Elmira of the same league the next year.

In 1997, Oberkfell became a manager in the Phillies’ organization, leading Piedmont of the Class A South Atlantic League for three seasons before skippering Clearwater of the Florida State League in 2000. Then in 2001, Oberkfell joined the Mets as the manager of Capital City of the South Atlantic League. He would steadily move up the ladder from Capital City to St. Lucie to Binghamton before reaching Triple-A Norfolk in 2005, where he was named Baseball America’s Minor League Manager of the Year after leading the Tides to a 79-65 record and the International League’s South Division title.

He managed the Tides again in 2006 before moving with the team to New Orleans in 2007. Then in 2008, Oberkfell took over as the Mets’ first base coach midway through the season after manager Willie Randolph was dismissed. He returned to Triple-A in 2009 as the Mets’ manager with Buffalo and remained there in 2010.

Following the 2010 season, Oberkfell interviewed for the Mets’ managerial job that eventually went to Terry Collins. He settled for a job as the Mets’ bench coach under Collins in 2011 but was not asked back in 2012.

“At the time, it was like: ‘This is good. I’ve interviewed. Now, next time, if I get an opportunity, I’ll be more prepared with the interview process,’” Oberkfell told the News-Democrat in 2017. “But that time never came, and that’s the way baseball goes.”

Oberkfell managed Newark of the independent Canadian-American Association in 2012 before taking over the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association from 2013-15. He later served as the hitting instructor for the Frontier League’s Gateway Grizzlies.

Over 21 seasons as a manager – including four seasons in the Dominican Winter League – Oberkfell managed 2,646 games and posted a record of 1,279-1,376.

But it was as a player, where he had 1,354 hits and 546 walks over 16 seasons, that Oberkfell is best remembered. Especially when Cardinals fans reminisce about their 1982 World Series champions.

“(St. Louis is) a great baseball city,” Oberkfell told the Belleville News-Democrat in 2008. “I was very fortunate to play (there) for seven years. Plus, being in my hometown made it a lot of fun. (St. Louis) fans always treated me with respect and treated me well. Hopefully, I gave them a little bit to cheer about during the years.

“I was a blue-collar player. I busted my tail every day.”

Craig Muder is the director of communications for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum