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 . During his playing career, Oates was a light-hitting player who was valued for his defensive skills and played most of his career as a reserve player. 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. Baseball playing career Born in Sylva, North Carolina, Oates graduated from Prince George High School in Prince George, Virginia, before going on to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles as their first round pick in the 1967 Major League Baseball Secondary Draft. 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. He continued his climb up the minor league ladder in 1970, playing for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings before making his major league debut with the Baltimore Orioles at the age of 24 on September 17, 1970. Oates was not on the post-season roster for The Orioles that won the 1970 World Series. 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. Oates was brought back up to the Orioles for the 1972 season, where he caught the majority of the Orioles' games. 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. Oates had been designated to platoon at catcher with Bob Boone for the 1976 season; however, in the