Johnny Bates

John William Bates (August 21, 1882 – February 10, 1949) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He played nine seasons in the majors from until . Bates played for the Boston Beaneaters, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago Cubs in the National League, and finished his career with the Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League. Bates hit for the cycle in 1907.

Early life Bates was born in Steubenville, Ohio. He entered professional baseball with the 1905 Sharon Steels, a new team in the Ohio-Pennsylvania League.

In July 1909, Bates was hitting .288, much higher than his previous season batting averages, when Boston traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies in a multiplayer deal. He then hit .293 for the Phillies that year.

Bates was involved in another multiplayer trade after 1910 season, this time to the Cincinnati Reds. He had one of his best seasons with the 1911 Reds. He hit .292 that year and, largely because his walk total ballooned to 103, he had an on base percentage of .415. His last major league season was 1914, which he split between the Reds, the Chicago Cubs, and the Baltimore Terrapins of the Federal League.

Later life Bates was a glassworker after retiring from baseball, and then he became a deputy sheriff for Jefferson County, Ohio. His stepson, Robert Dobbie Bates, was the county sheriff there in the late 1930s and 1940s. In 1949, Bates had a heart attack while he was shoveling snow, and he died ten days later in his native Steubenville.