Johnny Oates

Johnny Lane Oates (January 21, 1946 – December 24, 2004) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Yankees from to . It was as a big league manager that Oates experienced his greatest success, when, under his leadership, the Texas Rangers won three American League Western Division titles.

Oates began his professional baseball career with the Bluefield Orioles, then the Miami Marlins in 1967 at the age of 21. After two seasons with Miami, Oates moved up to the Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs in 1969, where he hit for a .288 batting average in 66 games. Oates returned to the minor leagues in 1971, playing another season with Rochester, where he posted a .277 batting average along with a respectable .364 on-base percentage. His defensive skills became apparent as he led American League catchers with a .995 fielding percentage. In a transaction primarily driven by the Orioles' need for a power-hitting catcher, Oates was traded along with Davey Johnson, Pat Dobson and Roric Harrison to the Atlanta Braves for Earl Williams and Taylor Duncan on the last day of the Winter Meetings on December 1, 1972. Oates spent two seasons with the Braves, platooning alongside Paul Casanova, then Vic Correll, before being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in May 1975. "That play changed my career", he said afterwards. Oates had one plate appearance, as a pinch hitter, in the 1976 National League Championship Series as the Phillies lost to the eventual world champion Cincinnati Reds. After the season, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on December 20, 1976.

With the Dodgers, Oates worked as a second-string catcher behind Steve Yeager and would once again reach the post-season as the Dodgers clinched the 1977 National League West title. The Dodgers went on to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 1977 National League Championship Series before eventually losing to the New York Yankees in the 1977 World Series. The 1978 World Series was also a repeat of the previous year, as the Dodgers once again lost to the Yankees in a six-game series. From 1984 to 1987, he worked as a coach for the Chicago Cubs and was credited with developing Jody Davis into a Gold Glove Award winning catcher. He rejoined the Orioles organization at their Rochester AAA affiliate in 1988. In his first full season with the team, Oates led the Orioles to an 89–73 record and then to an 85–77 record in 1993, which helped him to win The Sporting News Manager of the Year Award. However, following the strike-shortened 1994 season, Oates was dismissed by new owner Peter Angelos. He finished his Orioles managerial career with a record of 291 wins and 270 losses.

Following a fourth-place finish in 2000 and beginning the 2001 season with an 11–17 record, Oates resigned as manager and third base coach Jerry Narron replaced him. 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 on free agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez. He finished his Rangers managerial career with a record of 506 wins and 476 losses. 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 number 26 was retired by the Rangers on August 5, 2005. It was only the second number retired by the Rangers, following the 34 of Nolan 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. Prior to Game 3 of the 2010 American League Division Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, his eight-year-old grandson, Johnny Oates II, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Oates was posthumously inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame on August 7, 2010. 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 the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 1983. He was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame (the state-wide organization) in 2003.

Personal life

Oates was considering returning to managing when he was diagnosed with an aggressive brain 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 the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame at The Ballpark in Arlington. 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 at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond on Christmas Eve 2004.