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Johnny Bates
From BR Bullpen
John William Bates
- Bats Left, Throws Left
- Height 5' 7", Weight 168 lb.
- Debut April 12, 1906
- Final Game October 10, 1914
- Born August 21, 1882 in Steubenville, OH USA
- Died February 10, 1949 in Steubenville, OH USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Johnny Bates played nine seasons in the majors with an excellent OPS+ of 122. A consistent player, he drew lots of walks during the dead-ball era and stole 187 bases in his career.
Bates was born and died in Steubenville, OH. An article from Sporting Life in 1913 (which includes a photo) says that Bates had 8 brothers and 4 sisters. He apparently did not play professional baseball out of school, but instead worked as a glass-blower until 1905, when he joined the Altoona minor league club. Altoona released him after a month and he went to the team in Butler, PA where he played well.
The Boston Braves signed Bates, according to the article, and he sat on the bench until Del Howard was injured. Bates stated that for fun he liked hunting, and he claimed to have the best bird dog in the state of Ohio.
After his major league career he played in the high minors for four years.
The SABR biography of Dode Paskert mentions an article describing both Paskert and Bates as not very intelligent.
