Johnny Oates

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

Johnny Oates was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1981 for 5 teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, a span of 12 seasons. In 593 career games, he hit .250 with 410 hits, 14 home runs, and 126 RBI.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

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

Johnny Oates — 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.

Johnny Oates Stats, Bio & Career Records
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

Johnny Oates — 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

Johnny Oates — 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

Johnny Oates — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home31182884214972.258
Away28280962196554.242

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Oates — 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

Johnny Oates — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
C 533 423 2416 277 36 33

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Oates — 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.

Johnny Oates Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 533

College History

Johnny Oates — 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

Johnny Oates: the record in brief

Between the debut on September 17, 1970 and the final game on May 24, 1981, Johnny Oates built the record summarized on this page. Club by club, the record runs the Baltimore Orioles (1970 through 1972), the Atlanta Braves (1973 through 1975), the Philadelphia Phillies (1975 to 1976), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1977 to 1979), and the New York Yankees (1980 through 1981). Oates, a catcher by primary position, batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Oates is listed at 5 feet, 11 inches and 188 pounds. Oates was born on January 21, 1946, in Sylva, NC, USA. Oates's death is recorded on December 24, 2004, in Richmond, VA, USA. The given name on file is Johnny Lane Oates.

Oates's career batting table shows 593 games, 1,637 at bats and 410 hits, a .250 average; the totals also include 14 home runs and 126 RBI. The on-base percentage is .309 and the slugging percentage .313, for an OPS of .622. The .250 career average is close to the .258 the league hit across the same seasons. The highest hit total in a season was 80, in 1973. The RBI column peaks at 27 in 1973.

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.
What teams did Johnny Oates play for?
Johnny Oates played for 5 teams: the Baltimore Orioles (1970, 1972), the Atlanta Braves (1973–1975), the Philadelphia Phillies (1975–1976), the Los Angeles Dodgers (1977–1979), and the New York Yankees (1980–1981).
What were Johnny Oates's career stats?
In 593 games, Johnny Oates had 410 hits, 14 home runs, 126 RBI, 146 runs, and 11 stolen bases, with a .250 batting average.
What position did Johnny Oates play?
Johnny Oates played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Johnny Oates and how much did he weigh?
Johnny Oates was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 188 pounds.
How many home runs did Johnny Oates hit each season?
Johnny Oates's home runs by season: 0 in 1970, 4 in 1972, 4 in 1973, 1 in 1974, 1 in 1975, 0 in 1976, 3 in 1977, 0 in 1978, 0 in 1979, 1 in 1980, and 0 in 1981. His most in one season was 4, in 1972 and 1973.
What was Johnny Oates's career batting average?
Johnny Oates batted .250 over his career, with 410 hits in 1,637 at bats.
How many RBI did Johnny Oates have?
Johnny Oates drove in 126 runs in his career.
Is Johnny Oates in the Hall of Fame?
No. Johnny Oates has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.