Jim Coates
From BR Bullpen
James Alton Coates
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 4", Weight 192 lb.
- Debut September 21, 1956
- Final Game September 30, 1967
- Born August 4, 1932 in Farnham, VA USA
Biographical Information
Righthander Jim Coates was signed as an amateur free agent by the New York Yankees before the 1952 season. The 6' 4" pitcher was assigned to the Olean Yankees of the PONY League in his first pro season and responded with a 13-15 record and a 3.19 ERA. The slender pitcher would be in the minors for the next five seasons, sharpening his game for his 1956 Major league debut. His best year would come in 1955 when he went 14-8 with a 2.95 ERA in a split season with the Binghamton Triplets and the Birmingham Barons. This performance would earn Jim his first stop at Yankee Stadium in 1956 where he would appear in two games, pitch two innings and spend the rest of the year and also the next two with the Richmond Virginians of the International League where he won 22 and lost 23 over the three-year run.
From 1959 to 1962 Jim worked as a spot starter and reliever going 37-15 for the Bronx Bombers. He had a 13-3 mark in 1960, a year in which he was selected to the first of two All-Star games. Coates was especially tough at Yankee Stadium. Of pitchers with at least 20 wins, Jim had the highest winning percentage (.794) at the "House That Ruth Built" going 27-7 during his career. He is also the last Yankee pitcher to win both games of a doubleheader. The lanky Virginian enjoyed his finest moment in game four of the 1961 World Series when the Yankees beat the Reds 7-0. Coates relieved Whitey Ford in the sixth inning because of a foot injury. He responded with four shutout innings allowing only one hit. During the three World Series (1960, 1961 and 1962) that Coates was with the Yankees, he came up with a 0-1 record, appearing in six games with a 4.15 ERA.
The right-hander, who also made stops with the Washington Senators (1963), Cincinnati Reds (1963) and the California Angels (1965 to 1967) during his major league career, had the reputation of knocking down batters. He threw with a side-arm delivery and turned his head away from the batter at the last second. It was downright nasty. Jim said, "If you have to knock a batter down, you knock him down." Coates would finish up his nine-season big league run with a 43-22 record and an even 4.00 ERA. After being cut loose from the Angels, Jim would drop down to the Pacific Coast League and finish up his 15-year minor league run with the Hawaii Islanders at the age of 37 in 1970. His record in the minors shows 142 wins and 113 losses with a 2.81 ERA. Overall, he spent 19 active seasons in professional baseball (1952-1970).
Coates was an unforgettable character. Jim Bouton in his book Ball Four wrote of his skeletal former teammate. "Coates could pose as the illustration for an undertaker's sign. He has the personality to match..." Jim was also known as the only pitcher who could sleep with his eyes open and pitch with them closed. Jim's nickname, to his Yankee teammates, was "The Mummy". Following his baseball career, Jim became a high voltage electrician. For three years he worked in the underground Metro in Washington, DC, and spent twelve years in the shipyard in Newport News, Virginia. Coates, who was inducted into the Virginia Hall of Fame in 1994, resides in Lancaster, Virginia.
Coates is the grandfather of Aaron Pribanic.
Notable Achievements
- AL All-Star (1960)
- AL Winning Percentage Leader (1960)
- Won two World Series with the New York Yankees (1961 & 1962)
