From Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, the New York Mets signed Oquendo as an amateur free agent in 1979 at age 15. He made his MLB debut with the Mets in 1983 and was traded to the Cardinals in 1985. In 1988, he made his catching debut, giving him an appearance at every position. From 1989–1991, he was the Cardinals\' regular second baseman alongside shortstop Ozzie Smith. Oquendo\'s best season offensively came in 1989, when he batted .291, 28 doubles, .747 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) and a major-league leading 163 games played. In 1990, he produced his best season defensively, recording the fewest errors (three) for a second baseman in a season with at least 150 games played. \n', '

Following his playing career, Oquendo coached and managed in the Cardinals\' Minor League Baseball system in 1997 and 1998, and became their bench coach at the major league level the following year. In 2000, he became the Cardinals\' third base coach, remaining in that role until 2015, while helping lead the club to 11 playoff appearances, including World Series championships in 2006 and 2011 and four National League pennants. He missed the 2016 season after sustaining a knee injury that required surgery and rehabilitation; at the time, he was the longest-tenured coach in MLB. In 2017, he began serving as a special assistant to Cardinals general manager Mike Girsch, instructing at the Cardinals training facility in Jupiter, Florida. For the 2018 season, he returned to the Cardinals major league team to serve as third base coach once again.\n', '

Oquendo was born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and signed with the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1979 at only fifteen years old. When he made his major league debut with the Mets in 1983, he became the first player in franchise history to be younger than the franchise (the Mets began play in 1962; Oquendo was born in 1963). A switch hitter, Oquendo threw right-handed and stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall and weighed 160 pounds (73 kg) during his playing career. After two seasons bouncing back and forth between the Mets and their triple A affiliate the Tidewater Tides, Oquendo was traded with Mark J. Davis to the St. Louis Cardinals for Ángel Salazar and John Young.\n', '

Return to Jose Oquendo Autograph Profile