John Alvin Bateman (July 21, 1940 – December 3, 1996) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

, 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 Houston Colt .45s / Astros,

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

, and

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) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Bateman batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. During his playing days, he stood tall, weighing . Born in

Killeen, Texas Killeen is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. According to the 2020 census, its population was 153,095, making it the 19th-most populous city in Texas and the largest of the three principal cities of Bell County. It is the principal city ...

, Bateman grew up in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Ce ...

and attended

Lawton High School Lawton High School (LHS) was the first high school built in Lawton, Oklahoma. Lawton High is located at 601 Northwest Fort Sill Boulevard in Lawton, Oklahoma. The school was originally housed in a building on 800 Southwest 'C' Avenue, which later ...

. He signed with the expansion

Houston Colt .45s The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

, as an amateur free agent, in . In 10 MLB seasons, Bateman compiled a .230 lifetime batting average; he ended his big league career with the Phillies.

Houston Colt .45s

Bateman clubbed 22

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s for the minor league Modesto Colts in 1962, and made the Colt .45s out of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

the following season as Jim Campbell's back-up behind the plate. Campbell, however, sputtered, and soon lost his starting job to Bateman. On May 17, , Bateman caught the first no-hitter in Houston franchise history.

Don Nottebart Donald Edward Nottebart (January 23, 1936 – October 4, 2007) was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher appeared in 296 games in Major League Baseball for five teams over nine seasons (1960–1967; 1969). Notteb ...

held the

hitless in a 4–1 Houston win. For the season, Bateman batted .210 while leading his team with ten home runs and 59

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. He then split time behind the plate with

Jerry Grote Gerald Wayne Grote (born October 6, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played the majority of his Major League Baseball career as a catcher for the New York Mets, catching every inning of the franchise's first two World ...

in .

Houston Astros

In , the Colt .45s rebranded as the Astros. During that first season in the

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Houston ...

, Bateman struggled, ultimately spending almost half the season with the

AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...

Oklahoma City 89ers Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. While in the big leagues, he managed only a .197 batting average, with seven home runs — and spending only 39 games behind the dish — while backing up starting catcher

Ron Brand Ronald George Brand (born January 13, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, and was an original member of the Montreal Expos. Career Pittsburgh Pirates Brand originally signed ...

. In , Bateman won back his starting job behind the plate, and set a franchise record with sixteen home runs by a catcher; the record was tied by Jason Castro in , who hit two more as a designated hitter.

Montreal Expos

Bateman and Brand shared catching duties for the Astros through the season. On October 14, 1968, Bateman was drafted by the

as the sixth overall pick in the

1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season. The expansi ...

; 52 picks later, the Expos selected Brand, and the two resumed their platoon in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. Bateman batted sixth in the inaugural game versus the New York Mets on April 8, 1969, going 1-for-5 in the 11-10 win. As he had with Houston, Bateman also caught the Expos' first no-hitter: the first of

Bill Stoneman William Hambly Stoneman III (born April 7, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and executive who, during his eight-year (–) pitching career in Major League Baseball, threw two no-hitters; then, as general manager of the Ana ...

's two, on April 17, 1969 against the

, in only the ninth game in the franchise's history. In 1970 for Montreal, Bateman was second on the team in hits and triples, third on the team in home runs, runs batted in, doubles, extra-base hits, and stolen bases. That season Bateman also led all MLB catchers in stolen bases with eight, and finished 25th in the National League in power/speed. Bateman was a member of the Expos in October , during the

October Crisis The October Crisis (french: Crise d'Octobre) refers to a chain of events that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James C ...

gripping Canada. Bateman was friendly with the Montreal police, and on November 6, the hiding place of one of the

Front de libération du Québec The (FLQ) was a Marxist–Leninist and Quebec separatist guerrilla group. Founded in the early 1960s with the aim of establishing an independent and socialist Quebec through violent means, the FLQ was considered a terrorist group by the Canadia ...

(FLQ) terrorist cells was discovered. Expos manager

Gene Mauch Gene William Mauch (November 18, 1925 – August 8, 2005) was an American professional baseball player and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers (, ), Pittsburgh Pirates (), Chicago Cubs ...

was watching coverage of the events with his staff, and was not amused to see Bateman's bulky frame coming out of the hiding place on national television.

Philadelphia Phillies

On June 14, , Bateman was traded to the

for

Tim McCarver James Timothy McCarver (born October 16, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardinal ...

. He was released at the end of the season to make room for rookie prospect

Bob Boone Robert Raymond Boone (born November 19, 1947) is an American former catcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who was a four-time All-Star. Born in San Diego, California, he is the son of MLB player Ray Boone, and he is the father of ...

behind the plate.

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelphi ...

was 7-6 with a 2.86 ERA before Bateman was traded to the Phillies. With Bateman catching the rest of Carlton's starts that season, Carlton was 20-4 with a 1.60 ERA. Carlton called Bateman the best signal caller he ever played with, and unsuccessfully lobbied the Phillies' front office to re-sign Bateman in 1973.

The King and His Court

Bateman toured with the Fast Pitch softball team The King and His Court from 1977 to 1980. He acquired his softball skills while playing for the Texas State Amateur Softball Champion Houston Bombers.

Houston Colt .45s

Houston Astros

Montreal Expos

Philadelphia Phillies

The King and His Court

References

External links