[2] From Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, Oquendo was signed by the New York Mets as an amateur free agent in 1979 at age 15.

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 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.

[3] 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.. 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.

After pitching three scoreless innings, Oquendo was tagged for a two-run double by Ken Griffey in the nineteenth, and took the loss.

Springer was thrown out without warning, which caused Cardinals manager Tony La Russa to argue with umpire Larry Vanover.

La Russa was subsequently thrown out of the game, and bench coach Joe Petini assumed the role of manager.

Later in the game, Phillies pitcher Rudy Seánez threw a pitch that went behind Cardinals batter Brendan Ryan and was not ejected or warned.

Over the past few years Oquendo has interviewed for managerial positions with San Diego, Seattle, and the New York Mets.

After a called strike to Jon Jay from Pittsburgh Pirates starter James McDonald, Oquendo came down the third base line to argue with home plate umpire Lance Barrett.

Besides lobbing the standard ground balls, Oquendo had third basemen Matt Carpenter and catching prospect Carson Kelly standing in foul territory about three paces away, bowling baseballs at a rapid pace until they grew tired and increased their endurance and improved footwork and positioning.

The special included the Sklars receiving Oquendo's blessing to lobby for his spot in Cooperstown, collecting signatures for the petition, and giving a lackluster presentation to the Hall of Fame's committee.