| Johnny Oates | |
|---|---|
 Oates with theNashville Sounds in 1982 | |
| Catcher /Manager | |
| Born:(1946-01-21)January 21, 1946 Sylva, North Carolina, U.S. | |
| Died: December 24, 2004(2004-12-24) (aged 58) Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 17, 1970, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| May 24, 1981, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .250 |
| Home runs | 14 |
| Runs batted in | 126 |
| Managerial record | 797–746 |
| Winning % | .517 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Johnny Lane Oates (January 21, 1946 – December 24, 2004) was an American professionalbaseball player,coach, andmanager.[1] He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as acatcher for theBaltimore Orioles,Atlanta Braves,Philadelphia Phillies,Los Angeles Dodgers, andNew York Yankees from1970 to1981.[1] During his playing career, Oates was a light-hitting player who was valued for his defensive skills and played most of his career as areserve player.[2] It was as a big league manager that Oates experienced his greatest success, when, under his leadership, theTexas Rangers won threeAmerican League Western Division titles.[2]
Born inSylva, North Carolina, Oates graduated fromPrince George High School inPrince George, Virginia, before going on toVirginia Tech inBlacksburg.[1] He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles as their first round pick in the1967 Major League Baseball Secondary Draft.[3]
Oates began hisprofessional baseball career with theBluefield Orioles, then theMiami Marlins in 1967 at the age of 21.[4] After two seasons with Miami, Oates moved up to theDallas–Fort Worth Spurs in 1969, where he hit for a .288batting average in 66 games.[4] He continued his climb up theminor league ladder in 1970, playing for the Triple-ARochester Red Wings before making his major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles at the age of 24 on September 17,1970.[1][4] Oates was not on the post-season roster for The Orioles that won the1970 World Series.[5] Oates returned to the minor leagues in 1971, playing another season with Rochester, where he posted a .277 batting average along with a respectable .364on-base percentage.[4]
Oates was brought back up to the Orioles for the1972 season, where he caught the majority of the Orioles' games.[6] His defensive skills became apparent as he led American League catchers with a .995fielding percentage.[7] In a transaction primarily driven by the Orioles' need for a power-hitting catcher, Oates was traded along withDavey Johnson,Pat Dobson andRoric Harrison to theAtlanta Braves forEarl Williams andTaylor Duncan on the last day of theWinter Meetings on December 1, 1972.[8] Oates spent two seasons with the Braves,platooning alongsidePaul Casanova, thenVic Correll, before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in May1975.[1]
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Oates had been designated to platoon at catcher withBob Boone for the1976 season; however, in the season-opening game against thePittsburgh Pirates, he cracked his collar bone in a collision at home plate withDave Parker and missed almost half the season.[9] "That play changed my career", he said afterwards.[9] He returned to help the Phillies win the1976 National League Eastern Division pennant.[10] Oates had one plate appearance, as a pinch hitter, in the1976 National League Championship Series as the Phillies lost to the eventual world championCincinnati Reds.[11] After the season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on December 20, 1976.[12]
With the Dodgers, Oates worked as a second-string catcher behindSteve Yeager and would once again reach the post-season as the Dodgers clinched the1977 National League West title.[13] The Dodgers went on to defeat thePhiladelphia Phillies in the1977 National League Championship Series before eventually losing to theNew York Yankees in the1977 World Series.[13] In1978, Oates appeared in only 40 games as the Dodgers repeated as Western Division champions and, once again defeated thePhiladelphia Phillies in the1978 National League Championship Series.[1][14] The1978 World Series was also a repeat of the previous year, as the Dodgers once again lost to theYankees in a six-game series.[14] Oates' playing time decreased further in1979, as he appeared in only 26 games before being released at the end of the season.[1] He became afree agent and signed a contract to play for the New York Yankees on April 4,1980.[12] Oates served as a backup toRick Cerone during the 1980 season before playing in his final game on May 24,1981, at the age of 35.[1]
Oates began managing in baseball in 1982. That year, he guided theNew York Yankees' Double-ANashville Sounds to theSouthern League title.[15] From1984 to1987, he worked as a coach for theChicago Cubs and was credited with developingJody Davis into aGold Glove Award winning catcher.[16] He rejoined the Orioles organization at theirRochester AAA affiliate in 1988.[15] The following year, he was promoted to the majors where he worked as first base coach underFrank Robinson, and in1991, after Robinson started 13–24, Oates was promoted to the manager of the Orioles.[17] In his first full season with the team, Oates led the Orioles to an 89–73 record and then to an 85–77 record in1993, which helped him to winThe Sporting News Manager of the Year Award.[18][19] However, following the strike-shortened1994 season, Oates was dismissed by new ownerPeter Angelos.[20] He finished his Orioles managerial career with a record of 291 wins and 270 losses.[15]
Oates was hired by theTexas Rangers, who had just fired their previous manager,Kevin Kennedy. Oates proceeded to lead the Rangers to their first playoff appearance in team history during the1996 season.[18] Despite the team's poorERA (the team averaged 4.65 collectively), the Rangers' batting lineup was incredibly potent, featuringIván Rodríguez,Will Clark,Mark McLemore,Dean Palmer,Rusty Greer,Juan González, andMickey Tettleton; the team finished 90–72. Oates won the 1996American LeagueManager of the Year Award that year, sharing honors with the Yankees'Joe Torre.[18][19]
Oates continued to lead the Rangers for several more seasons, leading them toAmerican League West titles in1998 and1999.[18] However, the Rangers would win just one playoff game in that span (winning Game 1 of the1996 American League Division Series), and the latter two ALDS appearances saw the Rangers score only one run each time, all at the hands of theNew York Yankees, who won theWorld Series in those respective years. Oates' record of 1–9 (.100) is the worst for any manager with multiple postseason appearances.[citation needed]
In a blowout game on September 6, 2000, Oates hadScott Sheldon play all nine positions in a single game, making him the third player in MLB history to do so. Oates told reporters "After it got to be 10-1 … I thought it was the perfect night to do it."[21]
Following a fourth-place finish in2000 and beginning the2001 season with an 11–17 record, Oates resigned as manager and third base coachJerry Narron replaced him.[22] Many fans, however, blamed Rangers management for the team's woes, saying that team management placed unreasonable expectations on Oates, especially after spending $252 million onfree agentshortstopAlex Rodriguez. He finished his Rangers managerial career with a record of 506 wins and 476 losses.[15]
In an 11-year major league career, Oates played in 593games, accumulating 410hits in 1,637at bats for a .250 careerbatting average along with 14 home runs, 126runs batted in and a .309on-base percentage.[1] A good defensive player, he ended his career with a .987fielding percentage.[1]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| BAL | 1991 | 125 | 54 | 71 | .432 | 6th in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1992 | 162 | 89 | 73 | .549 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1993 | 162 | 85 | 77 | .525 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BAL | 1994 | 112 | 63 | 49 | .563 | 2nd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| BAL total | 561 | 291 | 270 | .519 | 0 | 0 | – | |||
| TEX | 1995 | 144 | 74 | 70 | .514 | 3rd in AL West | – | – | – | – |
| TEX | 1996 | 162 | 90 | 72 | .556 | 1st in AL West | 1 | 3 | .250 | LostALDS (NYY) |
| TEX | 1997 | 162 | 77 | 85 | .475 | 3rd in AL West | – | – | – | – |
| TEX | 1998 | 162 | 88 | 74 | .543 | 1st in AL West | 0 | 3 | .000 | LostALDS (NYY) |
| TEX | 1999 | 162 | 95 | 67 | .586 | 1st in AL West | 0 | 3 | .000 | LostALDS (NYY) |
| TEX | 2000 | 162 | 71 | 91 | .438 | 4th in AL West | – | – | – | – |
| TEX | 2001 | 28 | 11 | 17 | .393 | resigned | – | – | – | – |
| TEX total | 982 | 506 | 476 | .515 | 1 | 9 | .100 | |||
| Total[15] | 1543 | 797 | 746 | .517 | 1 | 9 | .100 | |||
Oates was named American League Manager of the Year in 1996 when he led the Rangers to their first playoff berth in franchise history, winning the American League West Division.[23] He won the Sporting News American League Manager of the Year Award that year (and also when he was managing the Orioles in 1993).
His uniform number26 was retired by the Rangers on August 5, 2005.[24] It was only the second number retired by the Rangers, following the34 ofNolan Ryan. During the 2005 season, a commemorative patch was worn on all Ranger uniforms and a sign was hung on the outfield wall in his honor.[25] Prior to Game 3 of the2010 American League Division Series against theTampa Bay Rays, his eight-year-old grandson, Johnny Oates II, threw out theceremonial first pitch.[26]
Oates was posthumously inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame on August 7, 2010.[27] That same year,Buck Showalter had honored his friend Oates by choosing the number '26' as he took over management of the Baltimore Orioles.
Oates was inducted into theVirginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. He was inducted into theVirginia Sports Hall of Fame (the state-wide organization) in 2003.[28][29]
Oates was considering returning to managing when he was diagnosed with an aggressivebrain tumor,glioblastoma multiforme. Doctors gave Oates only about a year to live, but he survived for over three years—enough time to attend his daughter's wedding, his grandchild's birth, and his induction into theTexas Rangers Hall of Fame atThe Ballpark in Arlington.[30] During the ceremony at The Ballpark, he was given a standing ovation as Oates, weakened by the cancer and its treatment, required the help of his wife Gloria and a cane to walk.
Oates died at age 58 atVirginia Commonwealth University Medical Center inRichmond on Christmas Eve 2004.[2]
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Nashville Sounds Manager 1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Columbus Clippers Manager 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chicago Cubs Bullpen Coach 1984–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Rochester Red Wings Manager 1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Baltimore Orioles First Base Coach 1989–1991 | Succeeded by |
