God Bless You Johnny Oates

Christmas is usually time for family and friends, a joyous time of the celebration of life. This year, however, many people will be remembering Johnny Oates, the former manager of the both the Balitmore Orioles and Texas Rangers. Johnny was a man of grace who always had a kind word for those around him. When he was informed that he had 2-3 months to live back in 2001, after being diagnosed with an agressive brain cancer, he told anyone who was interested that he considered each day, each moment, each event in his family’s life that was left to him a gift from God.

Johnny Oates was a strong Christian who translated his faith into his actions in his every day life, including his life at work. Since his work was baseball, he brought his faith into every aspect of what he did, from how he conducted himself on the field, to how he dealt with players and fans. He was a man of character, honor, and grace and everyone who knew him will miss him. Baseball as a sport will miss him also, especially now with all of the turmoil over drugs and performance enhancement. Whenever a field of endeaver loses a man of Johnny Oates’ character a hole is left behind and we can only pray that someone with his integrity will step into that void to take his place.

Good bye and God bless you Johnny Oates. May you enjoy your deserved rest in the everlasting arms.

Adminsitrative note: I am moving this blog to a new server and that, coupled with the Christmas seasonal demands, will mean limited posting for a few days. Thank you for your patience.