Raymond James Peters (August 27, 1946 – May 4, 2019) was an American

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

player and a former Major League

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 ...

. Peters, a ,

right-hander 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 ...

born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the Crimson for two seasons (1967–68).

Career

He was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in the first round (22nd pick) of the 1969 amateur draft (secondary phase). He had been drafted four times previously, but did not sign with any of those clubs. Said his Harvard baseball coach,

Norman Shepard Norman Westbrook Shepard (August 20, 1897 – August 22, 1977) was a head coach of various college athletics at several American colleges and universities. He is best known for being the only Division I college basketball coach to go undefeated ...

, in 1969: "A pitcher like Ray comes along just once in a while. He was one that could throw the ball by the hitter. You don't get a real stopper like Ray every day." Peters received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

Latin American History The term ''Latin America'' primarily refers to the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries in the New World. Before the arrival of Europeans in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the region was home to many indigenous peoples, a number of ...

and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

from Harvard in 1969. He was inducted into the Harvard Varsity Club Hall of Fame in 1993. Peters' Major League career lasted about a week, starting two games for the Milwaukee Brewers (né Pilots) against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

and Detroit Tigers in 1970 (June 4 and June 9). Peters gave up 12 baserunners (7 hits and 5 walks) and 7

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s in 2 total innings, and shortly thereafter returned to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

. He was traded along with Pete Koegel from the Brewers to the Philadelphia Phillies for Johnny Briggs on April 22, 1971. Peters' career MLB totals included an 0–2 record, 1 strikeout, and an

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 ...

of 31.50. His minor league career lasted three seasons, from 1969–1971.

Death

Peters died on May 4, 2019, aged 72, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

References

External links

* Personal website set up by famil
Big Train Ray
1946 births 2019 deaths Baseball players from Buffalo, New York Clinton Pilots players Eugene Emeralds players Evansville Triplets players Harvard Crimson baseball players Jacksonville Suns players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Newark Co-Pilots players Portland Beavers players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub