New York Yankees

James Alton Coates (August 4, 1932 – November 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball pitcher. A right-hander, Coates pitched in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees (1956, 1959–62), Washington Senators (1963), Cincinnati Reds (1963) and Los Angeles/California Angels (1965–67). He was born in Farnham, Virginia, attended Lancaster High School, and was listed as 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and 192 pounds (87 kg).

In his 247-game MLB career, Coates, whose nickname, "The Mummy", came from his funereal visage on the mound, won 43 games against 22 losses (a winning percentage of .662), with 17 saves, 13 complete games, four shutouts, a 4.00 ERA and 396 strikeouts in 683+1⁄3 innings pitched. He surrendered 650 hits and 286 bases on balls. As a Yankee, he went 37–15 (.712) with a 3.84 earned run average during the regular season; in six World Series games he lost his only decision, earned a save and posted a 4.15 ERA, allowing eight hits and three bases on balls, with eight strikeouts, in 13 innings pitched.

Coates was also well known for throwing at opposing batters. Jim Bouton, in his book, Ball Four, said Coates, after throwing at the opposing hitters, "would not get into the fights that followed." Coates disputes this, "Bouton had a personal issue, I don't know what he's referring to. I'd say it's hard to avoid the fight from the mound." Coates later said. In 2012, Coates published an autobiography titled Always a Yankee.