Johnny Oates

Born: 1/21/1946 in Sylva, NC, USA

Died: 12/24/2004 in Richmond, VA, USA

MLB Debut: 1970-09-17 | Final Game: 1981-05-24

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'11" | Weight: 188 lbs

Full name: Johnny Lane Oates

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Biography

Johnny Oates was a professional baseball player born in 1946, who played primarily as a position player from 1970 until his retirement in 1981. Over the course of his career, he participated in 593 games, showcasing his skills with a batting average of .250. Oates recorded a total of 410 hits, which included 14 home runs and 126 runs batted in (RBIs). In addition to his offensive contributions, he also demonstrated speed on the base paths, tallying 11 stolen bases during his time in Major League Baseball. Oates played in an era that bridged the transition from the end of the deadball era into a more power-oriented game, which influenced players' approaches at the plate. His steady performance and versatility allowed him to carve out a notable career, contributing to the teams he played for with both his batting and fielding abilities. After his playing days, Oates went on to enjoy a successful career as a manager, further solidifying his legacy within the sport.

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
593	1637	146	410	56	2	14	126	11	141	149	0.250	0.309	0.313	0.622	-2755.0

Career AVG .250 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .309 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .313 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 17.4% below league average.

Career OPS 0.622 vs. league average 0.703 across their career seasons — 11.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1970	BAL	AL	5	18	2	5	0	1	0	2	0	2	0	0.278	—	—	—	—	0.0
1972	BAL	AL	85	253	20	66	12	1	4	21	5	28	31	0.261	.243 (+7%)	.310 (+7%)	.353 (+3%)	.664 (+5%)	230.2
1973	ATL	NL	93	322	27	80	6	0	4	27	1	22	31	0.248	.256 (-3%)	.325 (-8%)	.378 (-20%)	.703 (-14%)	-803.9
1974	ATL	NL	100	291	22	65	10	0	1	21	2	23	24	0.223	.256 (-13%)	.324 (-14%)	.369 (-27%)	.693 (-21%)	-1117.1
1975	ATL	NL	8	18	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	1	4	0.222	—	—	—	—	0.0
1975	PHI	NL	90	269	28	77	14	0	1	25	1	33	29	0.286	.257 (+11%)	.327 (+10%)	.374 (-7%)	.701 (+1%)	0.0
1976	PHI	NL	37	99	10	25	2	0	0	8	0	8	12	0.253	.255 (-1%)	.320 (-4%)	.360 (-24%)	.681 (-15%)	-210.1
1977	LAD	NL	60	156	18	42	4	0	3	11	1	11	11	0.269	.264 (+2%)	.329 (-5%)	.401 (-12%)	.730 (-9%)	-243.6
1978	LAD	NL	40	75	5	23	1	0	0	6	0	5	3	0.307	.257 (+19%)	.323 (+8%)	.378 (-15%)	.702 (-5%)	-34.4
1979	LAD	NL	26	46	4	6	2	0	0	2	0	4	1	0.130	—	—	—	—	-375.1
1980	NYY	AL	39	64	6	12	3	0	1	3	1	2	3	0.188	.264 (-29%)	.326 (-31%)	.387 (-27%)	.714 (-29%)	-323.3
1981	NYY	AL	10	26	4	5	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0.192	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
3	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0.333

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	H	BB	AVG
1978	WS	LAN	1	1	1	1	1.000
1977	WS	LAN	1	1	0	0	0.000
1976	NLCS	PHI	1	1	0	0	0.000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
C	533	423	2416	277	36	33

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1970	BAL	C	4	4	30	1	2	1
1972	BAL	C	82	69	391	31	2	4
1973	ATL	C	86	79	409	57	9	6
1974	ATL	C	91	77	434	55	4	4
1975	ATL	C	6	5	21	1	0	0
1975	PHI	C	82	71	429	44	5	10
1976	PHI	C	33	26	155	15	1	1
1977	LAN	C	56	38	258	37	4	3
1978	LAN	C	24	18	77	10	4	1
1979	LAN	C	20	12	64	13	2	2
1980	NYA	C	39	15	99	10	1	1
1981	NYA	C	10	9	49	3	2	0