Aaron Bates

Aaron Bates

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 232 lb.
• School San Jose State University, North Carolina State University
• High School Archbishop Mitty High School
• Debut July 6, 2009
• Final Game July 12, 2009
• Born March 10, 1984 in New York, NY USA

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Biographical Information

First baseman Aaron Bates was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the sixth round of the 2006 amateur draft. He was signed by scout Jeff Zona and made his pro debut on June 20 with the Lowell Spinners. After going 0-for-4 in his first game, he began a 17 game hitting streak the next day. Overall, he hit .360 with 3 home runs and 14 RBI in 27 games with the Spinners before earning a promotion to the Greenville Drive in late July. With the Drive, he hit .270 with 4 homers and 16 RBI in 43 games. Bates began 2007 with the Lancaster JetHawks and had a 26-game on-base streak from April 13 to May 11. On May 19, in a game against the Lake Elsinore Storm, he went 5-for-5 and became the first player in the history of the California League and the first Red Sox minor leaguer since Jack Littrell of the Hornell Maple Leafs in 1949 to hit 4 home runs in a game. Overall with the JetHawks, he put up a .332 average with 24 homers and 88 RBI in 98 games and was named a California League All-Star. He was promoted to the AA Portland Sea Dogs in early August and reached base safely in his first 13 games there. He trailed off from there and ended the year with a .198 average with 4 homers and 13 RBI in 27 games.

Bates did not homer in the first 25 games of 2008 for Portland but then tied a team record with 7 RBI on May 6, including a grand slam. He ended the season with a line of .276/.366/.420 in 124 games, with 11 homers and 68 RBI. He was back at Portland to start the 2009 campaign and tore the cover off the ball. In 52 games, he hit .340/.405/.505 with 13 doubles and 7 homers in 232 at-bats. This earned him a promotion to the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. Bates made his major league debut with the Red Sox on July 6, 2009. He had been called up when third baseman Mike Lowell went on the disabled list with a hip injury. In his debut, he went 0 for 3 against the Oakland A's, striking out twice. In 11 at bats, he had four hits. He never returned to The Show as a player.

After his playing career ended, the Los Angeles Dodgers hired Bates to coach hitters for the AZL Dodgers in 2015. He returned to the Arizona League team to start 2016 before the Dodgers promoted him to hitting coach of the Great Lakes Loons in mid-July. Bates returned to the Loons in 2017. In 2018 the Dodgers promoted Bates to Minor League Assistant Hitting Coordinator.

Bates moved up to the major league staff in 2019 as an assistant hitting coach. He also served as the Dodgers' Director of Hitting for the minor leagues that season. From 2020 through 2022 he continued as an assistant hitting coach. Bates received another promotion in 2023 to hitting coach where he remained through the 2024 season. During his years in Los Angeles, Bates helped the Dodgers win World Series championships in 2020 and 2024.

Related Sites

• Aaron Bates on mlb.com
• NCSU bio