750 gather to pay respects to Johnny Oates

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (AP) About 750 relatives, friends and former baseball peers, including a contingent from Texas, paid their last respects Tuesday to former Rangers manager Johnny Oates.

He died Friday 58 after a three-year fight with glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain tumor.

Most of those at the funeral service at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church were associated with Oates through his 35-year baseball career of playing, coaching and managing.

Oates was best known for managing the Rangers to their first three postseason appearances, in 1996, '98 and '99. He also managed the Baltimore Orioles from 1991-94.

Jeff Zimmerman, a former Rangers pitcher, said that Oates was far more than just a manager to his players.

"He was more like a father figure than a manager," Zimmerman said. "Just the way he loved life and loved his family was a great example. There was more than just baseball to him."

Rangers manager Buck Showalter was among the approximately 25-man contingent that flew in from Texas. Orioles owner Peter Angelos also was in attendance.