I still don't know how I got to the big leagues because I wasn't that good.

He was selected by the Baltimore Orioles as their first round pick in the 1967 Major League Baseball Secondary Draft. Oates served as a back up to Rick Cerone during the 1980 season before playing in his final game on May 24 1981. Doctors gave Oates only about a year to live but he survived for over three years—enough time to attend his daughter's wedding his grandchild's birth and his induction into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame at The Ballpark in Arlington.

It was as a major league manager that Oates experienced his greatest success leading the Texas Rangers to three American League Western Division titles. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Baltimore Orioles Atlanta Braves Philadelphia Phillies Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees from 1970 to 1981.