Johnny Cornelius Ray (born March 1, 1957) is an American former second baseman and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who had a 10-year career from 1981 to 1990. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

and the California Angels of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. He also played two seasons for the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

in Japan in 1991 and 1992.

Biography

Ray played college baseball for the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

, finishing up in the 1979

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

for the runner-up Razorbacks. Ray was selected by the Houston Astros in the 12th round of the amateur baseball draft. He was traded to the Pirates on August 31, 1981, along with

Randy Niemann Randal Harold Niemann (born November 15, 1955) is an American professional baseball coach and a former pitcher who appeared in 122 Major League games, all but 10 in relief, in 1979–80 and 1982–87 for the Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates ...

for

Phil Garner Philip Mason Garner (born April 30, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder with the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers and ...

. Ray immediately became the Pirates' starting second baseman. As a rookie in 1982 he played in every game and was named the Rookie of the Year by ''

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

'', even though the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known ...

selected

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 ...

second baseman Steve Sax as the Rookie of the Year. Besides, Ray continued his productive hitting, leading the league in doubles in 1983 and 1984. He then won the

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters co ...

for second baseman in 1983, and finished fifth in the league in batting average in 1984. By the time, the switch-hitting Ray was consistently one of the most difficult batters to strike out. The Pirates, going with a youth movement, traded Ray to the Angels on August 29, 1987, for Miguel García and minor league prospect Bill Merrifield. García had a brief career in the major leagues while Merrifield never made it out of the minor leagues. Meanwhile, after narrowly missing making the All-Star team during a couple of seasons, Ray was finally chosen to the American League All-Star team in 1988. Later in his career, Ray demonstrated his versatility by playing some games in left field. This career path has been followed by a few other second basemen, such as

Alfonso Soriano Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976) is a Dominican former professional baseball left fielder and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Washington Nationals, and Chicago C ...

. After his career in the Major Leagues, Ray played for two seasons with the

in Japan. Since retiring, Ray returned to Chouteau, Oklahoma, where he was born, raised and still lives. As a mark of distinction, one roadside sign outside the eastern Oklahoma town reads "Chouteau, OK. Home of Johnny Ray."A Ray of Hope Remains for California But Oklahoma Native Still Calls Chouteau Home
''Newsok.com''. Retrieved on June 11, 2016.

Career statistics

References

External links

Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
: {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Johnny 1957 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American League All-Stars Arkansas Razorbacks baseball players Baseball players from Oklahoma California Angels players Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Daytona Beach Astros players Gulf Coast Astros players Major League Baseball second basemen Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College alumni Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen baseball players People from Mayes County, Oklahoma Pittsburgh Pirates players Silver Slugger Award winners Tucson Toros players University of Arkansas alumni Yakult Swallows players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople