Robert Joseph Ayala (born July 8, 1969) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Career

Ayala went to high school at Rio Mesa in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

. He was brought up with the Reds as a starter before moving to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

in his second season. The Reds traded Ayala with catcher Dan Wilson to the Mariners for

Bret Boone Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During his career Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He is a third generation professio ...

and Erik Hanson in November . Ayala finished the strike-shortened season with a 2.86

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

and 71 strikeouts in 57 innings while saving 18 games. He earned a career-high 19 saves during the Mariners' "Refuse to Lose" 1995 season. On April 24, 1996, Ayala suffered a severe hand laceration trying to open a Chicago hotel window.{{cite web, url=http://www.seattlepi.com/archives/1996 The Mariners traded Ayala to the Montreal Expos for minor leaguer Jimmy Turman on April 3, 1999, with Seattle paying all of Ayala's $1.8 million salary that year. Montreal released him a few months later and he finished the season pitching for the

. The

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

signed Ayala as a free agent, making him a non-roster invitee for the {{mlby, 2000 season. They released him before the start of the regular season. He started the regular 2000 season pitching for the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

, but after starting 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA, was released on May 8. On May 18, he signed with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

' Triple-A affiliate, the

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Fra ...

. Two months and nine saves later, the Dukes released him.

References

{{Reflist

External links

{{Baseballstats, br=a/ayalabo01, fangraphs=1000384, brm=ayala-001rob {{DEFAULTSORT:Ayala, Bobby 1969 births Living people Albuquerque Dukes players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from California Cedar Rapids Reds players Charleston Wheelers players Chattanooga Lookouts players Chicago Cubs players Cincinnati Reds players Greensboro Hornets players Gulf Coast Reds players Indianapolis Indians players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Montreal Expos players Port City Roosters players Seattle Mariners players People from Ventura, California Sportspeople from Ventura County, California Tacoma Rainiers players