Delbert Oakley "Del" (or "Butch") Bates Jr. (June 12, 1940 – September 24, 2009), was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

, in . In 22 career games, he had 8 hits, in 60 at-bats. Bates batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Bates was born in

Kirkland, Washington Kirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. A suburb east of Seattle, its population was 92,175 in the 2020 U.S. census which made it the sixth largest city in the county and the twelfth largest in the state. The city's downt ...

, in 1940. After graduating from

Bothell High School Bothell High School is located in Bothell, Washington, United States, and is one of four high schools in the Northshore School District. Approximately 1,500 students in grades 9 through 12 attend the school, which is a member of the KingCo 4A ath ...

, he served four years in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

, as a submariner, stationed in

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

. After being discharged, Bates was signed by the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

, as an amateur free agent, in 1963. After retiring from baseball, Bates was a longshoreman at the

Port of Seattle The Port of Seattle is a government agency overseeing the seaport and airport of Seattle, Washington, United States. With a portfolio of properties ranging from parks and waterfront real estate, to one of the largest airports and container t ...

. He was active in the International Longshore Union, Local 19, until retiring, in 2004. Bates died on September 24, 2009.

External links

Del Bates
at The Deadball Era
Del Bates
Seattle Times Obituary from ''

Legacy.com Legacy.com is a United States-based website founded in 1998, the world's largest commercial provider of online memorials. The Web site hosts obituaries and memorials for more than 70 percent of all U.S. deaths.Keagle, Lauri Harvey"Death in the ...

'' 1940 births 2009 deaths Philadelphia Phillies players Eugene Emeralds players Richmond Braves players Major League Baseball catchers Sportspeople from Kirkland, Washington Baseball players from King County, Washington Arizona Instructional League Angels players Columbus Jets players Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Rochester Red Wings players Tri-City Angels players Wichita Aeros players {{US-baseball-catcher-1940s-stub