Raymond Keith King (born January 15, 1974) is a retired

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), ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. He bats and throws

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

High school and college years

King attended Ripley High School ( Ripley,

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

) and lettered in football, basketball, and baseball. In baseball, he won All-America honors as a senior. The lefty is also an alumnus of

Lambuth University Lambuth University was a private Methodist university in Jackson, Tennessee. It was active from 1843 to 2011 and was supported by the Memphis Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. The university began as the Memphis Conference Female ...

Jackson, Tennessee Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States ...

Professional career

In ten seasons in the major leagues, King appeared in 593 games and pitched 411 innings. He was 20–23 lifetime with a 3.46 ERA, 181 walks, 278 strikeouts and 2 saves. As a batter he was 0–6 at the plate with three

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

Early career

King's professional baseball career began on June 1, , when 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 ...

selected him in the eighth round of the amateur draft. The southpaw spent the next four seasons playing for minor league affiliates in the Reds,

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

and

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 ...

organizations before finally making his major league debut on May 21, as a member of the Cubs.

Milwaukee Brewers

After two different stints with Chicago in 1999, King was dealt to the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

the following spring. During the and seasons the relief pitcher was a staple in the Brewers' bullpen, appearing in over 75 games each of those seasons.

Atlanta Braves

That off-season, King was dealt back to Atlanta for

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Wes Helms Wesley Ray Helms (born May 12, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. During his 13-year playing career, Helms played for the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, Florida Marlins, and Philadelphia Phillies. He played primarily as ...

and

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 ...

John Foster. King showed his durability once again, appearing in 80 games as the Braves' primary left-handed reliever. He also made his first career postseason appearance that season, pitching a scoreless inning of relief. He was on the move again, however, during the winter of , joining the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

along with fellow pitchers

Jason Marquis Jason Scott Marquis (; born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Arizona ...

and

Adam Wainwright Adam Parrish Wainwright (born August 30, 1981), nicknamed "Waino" and "Uncle Charlie", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Atlanta Braves selected him 29th overall in the ...

St. Louis Cardinals

The season was King's finest in the majors to date. The rubber-armed lefty appeared in a career and team high 86 games for the Cardinals, also notching career bests in

holds A hold (abbreviated HLD, H or HD) is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions: :1. Enters the game in a save (baseball), save situation; that is, when all of the following three conditions apply: :: (a) He appears i ...

(31), wins and

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

along the way to a 5–2 record and 2.61 ERA. From May to July, King built a 30-game scoreless streak, another personal best. He also pitched 6 innings that postseason as St. Louis captured the National League pennant.

Colorado Rockies

King joined the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

for the season after a trade from St. Louis for

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 cat ...

Larry Bigbie Larry Robert Bigbie (born November 4, 1977) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 2001 through 2006 for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. ...

and second baseman

Aaron Miles Aaron Wade Miles (born December 15, 1976) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played nine seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 to 2011 for the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Chica ...

Washington Nationals

He joined the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

on a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training the following winter. He made the Nationals Opening Day roster.

Return To Milwaukee

In September 2007, King was acquired by the Brewers in exchange for a player to be named later to help with their playoff run. King completed the 2007 season with a 1-1 record and a 4.76 ERA in 67 games. He became a free agent after the season.

Revisiting Washington

On November 30, , King re-signed with the Nationals, to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. On March 22, , King's minor league contract was purchased by the Nationals, and he thus made the opening day roster.
/ref> King appeared in 12 games and went 0-0 with a 5.68 ERA during the month of April. On April 24, King was optioned to Triple-A Columbus Clippers, Columbus, but he refused the assignment and declared free agency, never again to appear in a major league game.

Chicago White Sox

In early May 2008, King signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, but was released after only four appearances.

Houston Astros

On May 29, 2008, King signed a minor league contract with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

; he became a free agent at the end of the season.

Scouting report

A lefty specialist with a durable arm, King ranked amongst the top ten National League relievers in appearances from 2001 through 2005. Armed with a late-moving, low 90s fastball and sharp breaking slider, King pitched to the bottom of the strike zone and allowed few home runs. He was also adept at holding runners, and fielding his position, having committed only seven errors in 577 career games.

Facts

*Despite almost 600 career games, King has only 2 saves and never started a game. *King holds the second most number of single-season appearances for two organizations; the Atlanta Braves (80 appearances in 2003) and the Milwaukee Brewers (84 appearances in 2001). *King earned Milwaukee's Manager's Award and the Amanda Curran Award for Community Service in 2004. *King went 328 games without issuing an intentional walk, spanning over 4 years. This is the longest known streak of its kind. On August 6, , King allowed a leadoff double to

Ryan Klesko Ryan Anthony Klesko (born June 12, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and corner outfielder who played for the Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants. He attended Westminster High School in Westminster, Calif ...

in the bottom of the 11th inning and intentionally walked Dave Roberts to end the streak. The Giants eventually scored, and King took the loss. While pitching for the

, King threw a wild pitch on an intentional walk that scored the game's winning run from third base.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Ray 1974 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Atlanta Braves players Chicago Cubs players Colorado Rockies players Milwaukee Brewers players St. Louis Cardinals players Washington Nationals players Baseball players from Chicago African-American baseball players Iowa Cubs players Indianapolis Indians players Lambuth Eagles baseball players Billings Mustangs players Macon Braves players Durham Bulls players Greenville Braves players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Harrisburg Senators players Round Rock Express players Charlotte Knights players People from Maricopa County, Arizona People from Ripley, Tennessee Sportspeople from the Phoenix metropolitan area 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople