Aaron Bates (born March 10, 1984) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in 2009. He is currently one of the hitting coaches for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

College

NCAA

Bates played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for both the

NC State Wolfpack The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subd ...

and the

San Jose State Spartans The San Jose State Spartans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San José State University. SJSU sports teams compete in the Mountain West Conference at the NCAA Division I level, with football competing in the Football Bowl S ...

. He was a freshman All American for the

and twice named All American for the

. His best year coming in 2005, when he had arguably the greatest offensive season in wolfpack history hitting .425-12-64 and was drafted in the 8th round by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

. However, he returned to school for his junior season and hit .356-10-56 and was then selected by the

in 2006.

Collegiate summer

He played in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

for the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Bro ...

in the summer of 2005. He was named a Cape Cod League All Star alongside future

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

stars

Evan Longoria Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985), nicknamed "Longo", is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Francisco Giants, and Arizona Diamondbac ...

Justin Masterson Justin Daniel Masterson (born March 22, 1985) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. Drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2006 MLB draft from San Diego State University, he made his MLB debut two years later ...

, Daniel Bard and

Chris Coghlan Christopher Brockett Coghlan ( ; born June 18, 1985) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Florida / Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays. Coghl ...

. Bates also won the 2005 All Star game Home Run Derby.

Professional

Boston Red Sox

He was drafted in

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

in the 3rd round by the

. His first professional season was split between the

Lowell Spinners The Lowell Spinners were a baseball team based in Lowell, Massachusetts. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) as the Class A Short Season affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. With Major Leagu ...

and

Greenville Drive The Greenville Drive are a Minor League Baseball team based in Greenville, South Carolina. They are the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox and are a member of the South Atlantic League. They play their home games at Fluor Field at the West E ...

. In 2007, Bates began the year with the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

before being promoted to the AA

Portland Sea Dogs The Portland Sea Dogs are a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Maine, playing in the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League. Established in 1994, the Sea Dogs are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red ...

. He played with Sea Dogs until June 2009, when he was promoted to AAA

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

. In May 2009, he was the Eastern League Player of the Month while playing with the Sea Dogs. On July 6, 2009, Bates was called up to the Red Sox to play at first base after Jeff Bailey injured his ankle in a game two days before. He had four hits in 11 at-bats with the Red Sox, with his first hit being an RBI single to center field off

Román Colón Román Benedicto Colón (born August 13, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and Kansas City Royals. He also played in the KBO League for the ...

of the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. On July 26, 2010, the Red Sox outrighted Bates to Pawtucket, thus removing him from the 40-man roster. In March 2011 he was released by the Red Sox.

Minnesota Twins

On May 8, 2011 he was signed by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

to a minor league contract and sent to Rochester of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

. He went on to finish 3rd in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, .316 and lead the league in

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

at .408. Bates then re-signed with the

for the 2012 season, before declaring free agency. In Spring Training 2012, he hit .400 (8-20) with the Major League Team, but was sent to the AAA

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Fie ...

of the

to start the season. Bates was then released by the Twins on May 15, 2012 due to the subsequent demotions of then Twins 3rd baseman

Danny Valencia Daniel Paul Valencia (; born September 19, 1984) is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israel national baseball team. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red So ...

veteran

Sean Burroughs Sean Patrick Burroughs (September 12, 1980 – May 9, 2024) was an American professional baseball third baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 to 2005 and 2011 to 2012 for the San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Arizona ...

and rising star

Chris Parmelee Christopher Matthew Parmelee (born February 24, 1988) is an American former professional baseball right fielder and first baseman. He stands and weighs , and bats and throws left handed. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota ...

St. Louis Cardinals

On May 22, 2012, Bates signed a minor league deal with the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. He was subsequently released by the Cardinals at the end of July 2012 and signed with the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the G ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

Los Angeles Dodgers

On January 29, 2014, he signed a minor league contract with the

and was assigned to the AA

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

. He spent most of the season on the disabled list and only played in 11 games, hitting .176.

Winter Leagues

Bates played in the

Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente The Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League (Spanish: Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente, abbreviation LBPRC) is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico; it is colloquially referred to as the Puerto Rican Winter le ...

from 2008 to 2013. Playing for the Leones de Ponce in the winter of 2008, before being traded to the Criollos de Caguas. The Criollos played in the LBPRC championship series all four years he played with them. Winning championships in 2011 and 2013. In 2011, Bates played with Criollos in the

2011 Caribbean Series The fifty-third edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 2011. It was held from February 2 through February 7 with the champions teams from Dominican Republic (Toros del Este), Mexico ( Yaquis de Obregón), Puerto Rico ...

hitting .333 over the course of 6 games. It was held in

Mayagüez, Puerto Rico Mayagüez (, ) is the ninth-largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in Puerto Rico. It was founded as Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria de Mayagüez (Township of Virgin of Candelaria, Our Lady of Candelaria), and is also ...

and they finished tied for 2nd with the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

. He most recently played in the

2013 Caribbean Series The fifty-fifth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 2013. The Series was held from February 1 through February 7, featuring the champion teams of the 2012–2013 season in the Dominican Winter League (Leones del E ...

hitting .333 (2-6) which took place in

Hermosillo, Mexico Hermosillo (), formerly called Pitic (as in ''Santísima Trinidad del Pitic'' and ''Presidio del Pitic''), is a city in the center of the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora. It is the municipal seat of the Hermosillo municipality, the state's ...

Bates' grandparents are from

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce ( , , ) is a city and a Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The most populated city outside the San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan metropolitan area, Ponce was founded on August 12, 1692Some publ ...

, thus allowing him to play as domestic in the Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente.

Coaching

He retired from playing to become an assistant coach for the Dodgers rookie class

Arizona League Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The team is compo ...

team in 2015. In 2017, he was named hitting coach of the single-A

Great Lakes Loons The Great Lakes Loons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Midland, Michigan, and play their home games at Dow Diamond, which opened in April 2007. Hist ...

. He spent 2018 as a minor league coordinator before being named as the Dodgers Major League assistant hitting coach for the 2019 season. He was promoted to co-hitting coach for the 2023 season.

Personal

Bates grew up in the small coastal town of Santa Cruz,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. He attended Soquel High School for his freshmen year, before transferring to

Archbishop Mitty High School Archbishop Mitty High School affectionately known as Mitty by its staff, students and alumni is a private Catholic high school located in San Jose, California, United States. The school is named for John Joseph Mitty, the fourth Archbishop of S ...

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

where he played both

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

. His senior season he was the

Quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

on the football team which went 12-1 and captured its first

West Catholic Athletic League The West Catholic Athletic League (WCAL) is a high school athletic conference in the Central Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. The boys division is made up of seven Catholic schools and one nondenominational Christian ...

title in 25 years. He was inducted into the

Hall of Fame in January 2013.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, Aaron 1984 births Living people American sportspeople of Puerto Rican descent Boston Red Sox players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches NC State Wolfpack baseball players Lowell Spinners players Greenville Drive players Lancaster JetHawks players Portland Sea Dogs players Scottsdale Scorpions players Leones de Ponce baseball players Pawtucket Red Sox players Criollos de Caguas players Rochester Red Wings players Memphis Redbirds players Sugar Land Skeeters players Chattanooga Lookouts players Minor league baseball coaches Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball hitting coaches Baseball players from San Jose, California Baseball players from Manhattan San Jose State Spartans baseball players Baseball coaches from California Brewster Whitecaps players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Archbishop Mitty High School alumni