Roman Anthony Semproch (born January 7, 1931), also known as Baby and Ray, is a retired right-handed

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), ...

pitcher who played from 1958 to 1961 for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. He was signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent in 1951, but he did not make his big league debut until many years later – on April 15, 1958, against 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 ...

. The year prior, he'd gone 12–4 with a 2.64 ERA for the Triple-A

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. In his first major league game, he gave up a hit and a walk, struck out two, and earned the win in a three inning relief appearance. Overall, he went 13–11 with a 3.92 ERA in 36 big league games (30 starts) that season. Although he was leading the league in wins at mid-season, his success tapered off and he finished with a winning percentage slightly higher than .500.

Asthmatic Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

, Semproch never lived up to his rookie season's success. In 1959, he went only 3–10 with a 5.40 ERA in 30 games (18 starts). He was traded to the Tigers on December 5, 1959 with

Chico Fernandez Chico () means ''small'', ''boy'' or ''child'' in the Spanish language. It is also the nickname for Francisco in the Portuguese language (). Chico may refer to: Places *Chico, California, a city *Chico, Montana, an unincorporated community *Chic ...

for

Ken Walters Kenneth Rogers Walters (November 11, 1933 – January 26, 2010) was a right-handed Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1960 to 1961 for the Philadelphia Phillies and in 1963 with the Cincinnati Reds. Walters was born in 1933 i ...

Ted Lepcio Thaddeus Stanley "Ted" Lepcio (July 28, 1929 – December 11, 2019) was an American professional baseball utility infielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Whit ...

, and minor leaguer Alex Cosmidis. In 17 relief appearances for the Tigers in 1960, he had an ERA of 4.00 and a record of 3–0. Despite that moderate success, he was traded on June 15, 1960 to 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 ...

with cash for

Clem Labine Clement Walter Labine (August 6, 1926 – March 2, 2007) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) best known for his years with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960. As a key member of the Dodger ...

. He would never play in a Dodgers uniform. On November 28, 1960, he was drafted by the Washington Senators in the Rule 5 draft (he and John Gabler were the first two player acquired by the "new" Washington Senators of 1961). On April 7, 1961, the Angels purchased him from the Senators. He'd appear in only two games for the Angels, posting a 9.00 ERA. He played his final major league game on May 2, 1961. Overall, Semproch went 19–21 with a 4.42 ERA in 85 games (48 starts). In 344 innings, he walked 136 batters and struck out 156. He hit .116 at the plate and had a .965

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Following his big league career, he worked as a bar manager at his brother's Italian restaurant.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Semproch, Ray 1930 births Living people Baseball players from Cleveland Detroit Tigers players Elizabethton Phils players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball pitchers Miami Marlins (IL) players Philadelphia Phillies players Reidsville Phillies players Spokane Indians players Terre Haute Phillies players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Trois-Rivières Phillies players Wilson Tobs players