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12-24-2004, 05:15 PM
Former Orioles manager Oates dies at 58
Had been battling brain tumor; 'It was a pretty courageous fight'
From Sun staff and wire reports
Originally published December 24, 2004, 2:12 PM EST
RICHMOND, Va. -- Former Orioles manager Johnny Oates, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor three years ago, died early today. He was 58.
Oates also managed the Texas Rangers to their first three postseason appearances. His death was confirmed by John Blake, a former Rangers spokesman who worked for the organization when Oates coached in the 1990s.
"It was a pretty courageous fight," Blake said.
"He accomplished something no other manager had here. The first division title was certainly a big anvil off everybody's back with this franchise."
Oates managed the Orioles from 1991-94.
In a statement, Orioles owner Peter Angelos said, "Johnny Oates was a true gentleman. He faced his disease the way he lived his life, with class and dignity."
Oates spent six seasons with the Rangers, guiding them to the playoffs in 1996, '98 and '99, and shared the American League Manager of the Year award with the New York Yankees' Joe Torre in 1996.
Oates resigned in 2001 after the Rangers lost 17 of their first 28 games despite the addition of $252 million, free-agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez. He compiled a regular season record of 797-746 and got his only postseason victory in 10 tries when the Rangers made their playoff debut, winning 6-2 at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 1, 1996.
Texas lost the next three games and was swept by the Yankees in 1998 and '99.
"Throw away what he did in baseball, and you still have a special man. Baseball did not define Johnny," said Rangers manager Buck Showalter, who regularly talked with Oates.
Just more than six months after leaving the Rangers, Oates was considering a return to managing when he began having speech problems and weakness. He was diagnosed Nov. 5, 2001, with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain tumor. He had a significant portion of the tumor removed during a five-hour operation Nov. 20 at Johns Hopkins hospital, and a device that delivered time-released chemotherapy was implanted. But the tumor returned in April 2003.
Throughout his illness, Oates remained an upbeat and deeply spiritual man, thankful for the warning that he would likely die from the disease, but celebrating the chance to be with his wife, Gloria, of nearly 40 years, their three children and grandchildren.
"When you look at it, it's a blessing," he said in a March 2003 interview.
"It is a sad day, but a happy day," Showalter said. "Johnny is in a better place. Gloria said one of their prayers was that he would be in heaven before Christmas. I bet there will be a heck of a baseball game up there tomorrow ... no, the day after tomorrow, it will take John time to get organized."
Oates and his wife began each morning studying the Bible in the sunroom of their home on Lake Chesdin, about 30 miles from Richmond, and were active in their church. Oates also attended local baseball games periodically, but increasingly needed help to get there after the brain surgery slowly caused the left side of his body to become lame.
"I don't miss baseball one single bit. I enjoy talking about it, but I know I can't do it anymore. I like to watch it on TV," he said in an interview with the Associated Press in March 2003. "I miss the people. I don't miss the stress that went with it, all the decision-making. But now I enjoy being here. I enjoy being lazy."
Oates, a left-handed hitting catcher, played for five teams in his major league career, starting with the Orioles in 1970. It was there that he encountered Cal Ripken Sr., and he later credited Ripken with helping turn him into a big league player.
When he was just starting out, Oates recalled days when Ripken stood on the pitcher's mound with a bucket of balls and a fungo bat, hitting one-hoppers at him.
"He said if I could block them, I could block any pitches," Oates said.
Said Cal Ripken Jr.: "Johnny was always around my dad a lot. They were both wiry catchers. I met Johnny when I was a kid hanging around baseball. When I think of him, I think of old school baseball and my dad."
Oates had a tremendous respect for Cal Ripken Sr., and he always loved to sit in the dugout before a game against the Orioles at Camden Yards and reminisce about the Ripken family.
"I can remember going over to see Cal Sr. at his Aberdeen home when Cal Jr. was just a kid," Oates said one night at Camden Yards several years ago. "What a great knowledge Cal Sr. had of this game. It was a treat to be around him and talk baseball."
After his stint with the Orioles, he played with Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and the Yankees.
"I still don't know how I got to the big leagues because I wasn't that good," he said, chuckling, in the 2003 interview. "I was a slap hitter. I kept my mouth shut. I did. I kept my mouth shut. I couldn't throw. I couldn't throw a lick."
For his career, Oates hit .250 with 14 home runs and 126 RBIs, numbers nearly matched in one season by Ivan Rodriguez -- Oates' catcher with the Rangers.
Following his retirement from the Yankees in 1981, Oates managed the Yankees' Double-A Southern League team, winning the championship in his first season.
As part of a Rangers Hall of Fame ceremony in August 2003, Showalter dedicated the manager's office in Arlington with a plaque honoring Oates.
"That will always be Johnny's office. We're just renting it and passing through," Showalter said today. "The definition of man and manager, Johnny's picture will be next to it."
Oates posted a 291-270 record in nearly four years with the Orioles, who he managed from May 23, 1991, to the end of the 1994 season.
Orioles Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson recalled an amusing story about Oates, who was traded to Atlanta after the 1972 season.
"We played Atlanta in an exhibition and I put the hit-and-run sign on. Johnny threw the runner out easily," said Robinson. "I said, 'How did you know it was coming?' He said, 'You never changed the hit-and-run sign from when I was there.'"
Added Robinson: "There's never been a nicer guy. He was just a gentleman."
Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who preceded Oates as manager of the Orioles and played on the 1970 world championship team with Oates, called him "a baseball man who was well-liked by the players."
Frank Robinson said he sensed that Oates was a devoutly-religious man, "but he never brought religion to the ballpark with him."
Said baseball commissioner Bud Selig: "There is so much good in the game of baseball, and Johnny Oates symbolized that. He's just that kind of human being. He is a true baseball professional because he has always conducted himself with dignity and class."
Had been battling brain tumor; 'It was a pretty courageous fight'
From Sun staff and wire reports
Originally published December 24, 2004, 2:12 PM EST
RICHMOND, Va. -- Former Orioles manager Johnny Oates, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor three years ago, died early today. He was 58.
Oates also managed the Texas Rangers to their first three postseason appearances. His death was confirmed by John Blake, a former Rangers spokesman who worked for the organization when Oates coached in the 1990s.
"It was a pretty courageous fight," Blake said.
"He accomplished something no other manager had here. The first division title was certainly a big anvil off everybody's back with this franchise."
Oates managed the Orioles from 1991-94.
In a statement, Orioles owner Peter Angelos said, "Johnny Oates was a true gentleman. He faced his disease the way he lived his life, with class and dignity."
Oates spent six seasons with the Rangers, guiding them to the playoffs in 1996, '98 and '99, and shared the American League Manager of the Year award with the New York Yankees' Joe Torre in 1996.
Oates resigned in 2001 after the Rangers lost 17 of their first 28 games despite the addition of $252 million, free-agent shortstop Alex Rodriguez. He compiled a regular season record of 797-746 and got his only postseason victory in 10 tries when the Rangers made their playoff debut, winning 6-2 at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 1, 1996.
Texas lost the next three games and was swept by the Yankees in 1998 and '99.
"Throw away what he did in baseball, and you still have a special man. Baseball did not define Johnny," said Rangers manager Buck Showalter, who regularly talked with Oates.
Just more than six months after leaving the Rangers, Oates was considering a return to managing when he began having speech problems and weakness. He was diagnosed Nov. 5, 2001, with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain tumor. He had a significant portion of the tumor removed during a five-hour operation Nov. 20 at Johns Hopkins hospital, and a device that delivered time-released chemotherapy was implanted. But the tumor returned in April 2003.
Throughout his illness, Oates remained an upbeat and deeply spiritual man, thankful for the warning that he would likely die from the disease, but celebrating the chance to be with his wife, Gloria, of nearly 40 years, their three children and grandchildren.
"When you look at it, it's a blessing," he said in a March 2003 interview.
"It is a sad day, but a happy day," Showalter said. "Johnny is in a better place. Gloria said one of their prayers was that he would be in heaven before Christmas. I bet there will be a heck of a baseball game up there tomorrow ... no, the day after tomorrow, it will take John time to get organized."
Oates and his wife began each morning studying the Bible in the sunroom of their home on Lake Chesdin, about 30 miles from Richmond, and were active in their church. Oates also attended local baseball games periodically, but increasingly needed help to get there after the brain surgery slowly caused the left side of his body to become lame.
"I don't miss baseball one single bit. I enjoy talking about it, but I know I can't do it anymore. I like to watch it on TV," he said in an interview with the Associated Press in March 2003. "I miss the people. I don't miss the stress that went with it, all the decision-making. But now I enjoy being here. I enjoy being lazy."
Oates, a left-handed hitting catcher, played for five teams in his major league career, starting with the Orioles in 1970. It was there that he encountered Cal Ripken Sr., and he later credited Ripken with helping turn him into a big league player.
When he was just starting out, Oates recalled days when Ripken stood on the pitcher's mound with a bucket of balls and a fungo bat, hitting one-hoppers at him.
"He said if I could block them, I could block any pitches," Oates said.
Said Cal Ripken Jr.: "Johnny was always around my dad a lot. They were both wiry catchers. I met Johnny when I was a kid hanging around baseball. When I think of him, I think of old school baseball and my dad."
Oates had a tremendous respect for Cal Ripken Sr., and he always loved to sit in the dugout before a game against the Orioles at Camden Yards and reminisce about the Ripken family.
"I can remember going over to see Cal Sr. at his Aberdeen home when Cal Jr. was just a kid," Oates said one night at Camden Yards several years ago. "What a great knowledge Cal Sr. had of this game. It was a treat to be around him and talk baseball."
After his stint with the Orioles, he played with Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and the Yankees.
"I still don't know how I got to the big leagues because I wasn't that good," he said, chuckling, in the 2003 interview. "I was a slap hitter. I kept my mouth shut. I did. I kept my mouth shut. I couldn't throw. I couldn't throw a lick."
For his career, Oates hit .250 with 14 home runs and 126 RBIs, numbers nearly matched in one season by Ivan Rodriguez -- Oates' catcher with the Rangers.
Following his retirement from the Yankees in 1981, Oates managed the Yankees' Double-A Southern League team, winning the championship in his first season.
As part of a Rangers Hall of Fame ceremony in August 2003, Showalter dedicated the manager's office in Arlington with a plaque honoring Oates.
"That will always be Johnny's office. We're just renting it and passing through," Showalter said today. "The definition of man and manager, Johnny's picture will be next to it."
Oates posted a 291-270 record in nearly four years with the Orioles, who he managed from May 23, 1991, to the end of the 1994 season.
Orioles Hall of Fame third baseman Brooks Robinson recalled an amusing story about Oates, who was traded to Atlanta after the 1972 season.
"We played Atlanta in an exhibition and I put the hit-and-run sign on. Johnny threw the runner out easily," said Robinson. "I said, 'How did you know it was coming?' He said, 'You never changed the hit-and-run sign from when I was there.'"
Added Robinson: "There's never been a nicer guy. He was just a gentleman."
Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, who preceded Oates as manager of the Orioles and played on the 1970 world championship team with Oates, called him "a baseball man who was well-liked by the players."
Frank Robinson said he sensed that Oates was a devoutly-religious man, "but he never brought religion to the ballpark with him."
Said baseball commissioner Bud Selig: "There is so much good in the game of baseball, and Johnny Oates symbolized that. He's just that kind of human being. He is a true baseball professional because he has always conducted himself with dignity and class."