Johnny Oates

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1970-1981)

AVG .250
HR 14
RBI 126
H 410
OPS .622
PIV -2,383
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 188 lb
Born
1/21/1946 in Sylva, NC, USA
Died
12/24/2004 in Richmond, VA, USA
MLB Debut
1970-09-17
Last Game
1981-05-24

Full name: Johnny Lane Oates

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
593 1,637 146 410 56 2 14 126 11 141 149 .250 .309 .313 .622 -2,383

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 .622 vs. league average .703 across their career seasons — 11.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

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 .278 — — — — 0.0
1972 BAL AL 85 253 20 66 12 1 4 21 5 28 31 .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 .248 .256 (-3%) .325 (-8%) .378 (-20%) .703 (-14%) -685.8
1974 ATL NL 100 291 22 65 10 0 1 21 2 23 24 .223 .256 (-13%) .324 (-14%) .369 (-27%) .693 (-21%) -942.6
1975 ATL NL 8 18 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 .222 — — — — 0.0
1975 PHI NL 90 269 28 77 14 0 1 25 1 33 29 .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 .253 .255 (-1%) .320 (-4%) .360 (-24%) .681 (-15%) -196.6
1977 LAN NL 60 156 18 42 4 0 3 11 1 11 11 .269 .264 (+2%) .329 (-5%) .401 (-12%) .730 (-9%) -219.2
1978 LAN NL 40 75 5 23 1 0 0 6 0 5 3 .307 .257 (+19%) .323 (+8%) .378 (-15%) .702 (-5%) -32.0
1979 LAN NL 26 46 4 6 2 0 0 2 0 4 1 .130 — — — — -357.8
1980 NYA AL 39 64 6 12 3 0 1 3 1 2 3 .188 .264 (-29%) .326 (-31%) .387 (-27%) .714 (-29%) -301.5
1981 NYA AL 10 26 4 5 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 .192 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 593 1,637 146 410 56 2 14 126 11 141 149 .250 — — — — -2,505

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

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 .333

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1978 WS LAN 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1.000
1977 WS LAN 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1976 NLCS PHI 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (593 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home31182884214972.258
Away28280962196554.242

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1981-05-24 NYYCLEL 221000010
1981-05-14 NYYOAKW 000000000
1981-05-12 NYYOAKW 311100000
1981-05-03 NYYOAKW 401000000
1981-04-26 NYYTORL 200000000
1981-04-25 NYYTORL 300000000
1981-04-24 NYYTORW 311000000
1981-04-21 NYYDETW 300000000
1981-04-20 NYYDETW 300000010
1981-04-19 NYYTEXL 301000000

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

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Catcher 533

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg VA 1966, 1967

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Johnny Oates (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dick Bertell
    .250 avg, 10 HR
  2. 93
    Josh Thole
    .242 avg, 9 HR
  3. 93
    Junior Ortiz
    .256 avg, 5 HR
  4. 85
    Gary Bennett
    .241 avg, 22 HR
  5. 83
    Mickey Livingston
    .238 avg, 19 HR
  6. 81
    Roy Spencer
    .247 avg, 3 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Oates

What years did Johnny Oates play?
Johnny Oates played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1981.
Was Johnny Oates a pitcher?
No. Johnny Oates was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Johnny Oates hit?
Johnny Oates hit 14 career home runs with 410 hits.