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 ...

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 ...

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), ...

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 ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

MLB All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

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 ...

strikeout 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 ...

Brentwood, Tennessee Brentwood is a city in Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 45,373 as of the 2020 United States census. Growing up in the

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

area, Ray often played youth baseball on

travel team ''Travel Team'' is a young adult novel by columnist Mike Lupica, about a boy named Danny Walker who is cut from his travel basketball team because of his short stature, so his father Richie responds by forming a new travel team made up of players ...

s alongside future

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), ...

(MLB) All-Star

Mookie Betts Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts (born October 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Boston Red Sox. In 2018, while with the Red Sox, he became ...

. Although he and Betts were on the same travel teams, they played against each other at their respective high schools, with Ray attending Brentwood and Betts at

John Overton John Overton may refer to: People *John Overton (printseller) (1640–1713), seller of prints and maps who succeeded Peter Stent *John Overton (priest) (1763–1838), English clergyman *John Overton (judge) (1766–1833), judge at the Superior Cour ...

. During his senior year of high school, Ray posted a 7–1

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

and a 0.50

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 ...

(ERA),

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

95 batters while

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

only 13. He also pitched three

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

s that year, including one

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

against Centennial High School.

Professional career

Washington Nationals organization

After de-committing from

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, Ray had planned to play

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 pl ...

for the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

when he was selected by 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 ...

in the 12th round of the

2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

. He signed with the team on August 14, just before the deadline for draftees, and accepted a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $799,000, an amount typically allotted for fourth-round draft picks. Because he signed so late in the season, Ray had limited time to play in 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 ...

in 2010. He pitched only one inning that season, striking out two batters in an appearance for the

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, on ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

. After spending five weeks at extended

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

Ray's first professional baseball

start Start can refer to multiple topics: *Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air * Starting lineup in sports *Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race Acronyms *St ...

came on May 10, 2011, when he pitched five innings for the Class A

Hagerstown Suns The Hagerstown Suns were a Minor League Baseball team based in Hagerstown, Maryland. They were a member of the South Atlantic League and, from 2007 through 2020, were the Class A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They played their home g ...

, striking out six and walking none. Although Hagerstown missed the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

playoffs, Ray had a standout season, going 2–3 with a 3.13 ERA in 20 starts. Promoted to the

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to Fr ...

for the 2012 season, Ray struggled with the jump to

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

. He went 4–12 with a 6.56 ERA, walking 49 and striking out 86 in innings. Ray described the season as "put

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 1992 ...

me in my place and show ngme what I needed to work on", and he spent the offseason adjusting his pitching mechanics with the help of minor league pitching coach

Chris Michalak Christian Matthew Michalak (born January 4, 1971) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher who played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, Texas Rangers, and Cincinnati Reds between 1998 and 2006, and a c ...

. By turning his hip mid-pitch and lifting his arm slot, Ray was able to isolate the strike zone, and increase his confidence as a pitcher. Leading the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

(CAR) with 93 strikeouts and tying for fourth with an ERA of 2.84 in the first half, Ray was named to the CAR All-Star Team. After going 6–3 with a 3.11 ERA in 16 starts and striking out 100 batters in 84 innings, Ray was promoted to the Double-A

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

on July 5, 2013. He recorded a complete game shutout in only his second Double-A start, allowing just three

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and striking out 11 in a victory over the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

. In 11 starts for Harrisburg, Ray went 5–2 with a 3.72 ERA, striking out 60 batters in 58 innings.

Detroit Tigers

On December 3, 2013, the Nationals traded Ray,

Ian Krol Ian A. Krol (born May 9, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angel ...

, and Steve Lombardozzi Jr. to the

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 ...

for

Doug Fister Douglas Wildes Fister (born February 4, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, and Texas ...

, a move that was part of

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Dave Dombrowski David Dombrowski (born July 27, 1956) is an American baseball executive who serves as the President of Baseball Operations for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Dombrowski also previously served as the general manager of ...

's larger plan to cut the Tigers' payroll and invest in pitching prospects. Ray received an invitation to join the Tigers for spring training, with the stipulation that he would only be considered for the major league

starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire ...

if

Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...

was not yet ready to return from core muscle surgery. Ray ultimately began the season with the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, serving as the No. 3 starter in a rotation that alternated between left- and right-handed pitchers. When

Aníbal Sánchez Aníbal Alejandro Sánchez Jr. (; born February 27, 1984) is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Florida Marlins and has also played for the Detroit Tig ...

was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a middle finger laceration, Ray, who had gone 3–2 with a 1.59 ERA in five starts for Toledo, was called up to fill his spot in the rotation. Ray made his MLB debut on May 6, 2014, allowing only one run on five hits in innings of an 11–4 rout of 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 was the first Tigers pitcher to win his first major league start at the age of 22 or younger since

Jeff Weaver Jeffrey Charles Weaver (born August 22, 1976) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher. During his career, he pitched for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, St. Louis Cardinal ...

in 1999. After two spot starts for Detroit, Ray was sent back down to Toledo, where he remained until August 10, when he was once again called up to fill in for Sánchez. Ray struggled during this second call-up, which was extended after Sánchez's strained pectoral muscle turned out to be a more severe injury than anticipated. Ray pitched in nine games for the Tigers, starting six, during which he went 1–4 with an 8.16 ERA. He found more success in Toledo, posting a 7–6 record and 4.22 ERA in 20 games (19 starts). After the regular season ended, Ray showed signs of improvement in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

, where he allowed only one run and struck out 12 in his first two starts for the

Glendale Desert Dogs The Glendale Desert Dogs are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Chicago White ...

. In four starts for Glendale, Ray went 1–1 with a 2.45 ERA, striking out 13 batters in 11 innings of work.

Arizona Diamondbacks

The Tigers traded Ray to the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

on December 5, 2014, as part of a three-team trade also involving the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

: Ray and

Domingo Leyba Domingo Junior Leyba Santana (born September 11, 1995) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles. Career Detroit Ti ...

went from Detroit to Arizona,

Didi Gregorius Mariekson Julius "Didi" Gregorius (born February 18, 1990) is a Dutch professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees and Philadel ...

went from Arizona to New York, and

Shane Greene Shane Greene (born November 17, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Yankees select ...

went from New York to Detroit. Once there, he was assigned to the Triple-A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, which opened in 2009. ...

to open the 2015 season. When

Archie Bradley Archie Bradley may refer to: * Archie Bradley (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball pitcher *Archie Bradley (boxer) Archie Bradley (4 January 1897 – 27 March 1969) was an Australian professional boxer of the 1920s. Also known as the ...

was hit in the face with a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

, Ray was called up for a spot start in the second game of a doubleheader against 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 ...

on May 6. He allowed one run on five hits in six innings and took Arizona to a 5–1 victory. When Bradley suffered another injury on June 4, Ray was once again recalled to take his place in the rotation. With a 5–12 record and 3.52 ERA, Arizona Chief Baseball Officer

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...

was confident in Ray's development over the course of the 2015 season, with his increased command leading to 108 strikeouts in innings. Ray was named to a major league

opening day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster for the first time in 2016, serving as the Diamondbacks' No. 5 starter. He started the season in a slump, going over a month between his first and second wins of the season, with the second coming in a 12–2 rout of the Yankees on May 16. He hit his first career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

on June 7, a solo shot against

Chris Archer Christopher Alan Archer (born September 26, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins. Archer attended Cla ...

of the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

. In 32 starts for the Diamondbacks, Ray was 8–15 with a 4.90 ERA in 2016. His season was marked by inconsistency: Ray had 11.3

strikeouts per nine innings In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched (K/9, SO/9, or SO/9IP) is the mean of strikeouts (or Ks) by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the numb ...

(K/9), becoming only the 11th pitcher in MLB history to do so, and he recorded 218 strikeouts in innings, but his ERA was also the third-worst of any pitcher with 200 or more strikeouts in a single season. In terms of

Wins Above Replacement Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...

(WAR), he was at 0.7 by

Baseball-Reference.com Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

, 3.0 by FanGraphs, and 4.8 by Baseball Prospectus. Ray had an unremarkable start to the 2017 season, with a 4.57 ERA through eight starts. At that point,

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

, who was serving as a special assistant to the Diamondbacks' president, spoke with Ray and told him, "You better figure this out, because you never know what your last pitch is going to be." From there, Ray went on a -inning scoreless streak, including his first major league complete game shutout, coming on May 30 against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. As the Diamondbacks' No. 2 starter behind

Zack Greinke Donald Zackary Greinke ( ; born October 21, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He made his MLB debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2004 and has also played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers, Los An ...

, Ray finished the first half of the season with eight wins and a 2.97 ERA, leading to his first All-Star Game selection. Ray's season was interrupted on July 28, when he was hit in the head with a

line drive In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a fou ...

from

Luke Voit Louis Linwood Voit III (born February 13, 1991) is an American professional baseball first baseman who is a free agent. He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and Washington Nationals. Voi ...

of 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 ha ...

. Ray fell to the ground and was placed on concussion protocols, only returning to the mound on August 24. Ray made 28 regular-season starts for Arizona, going 15–5 with a 2.89 ERA in the process. The Diamondbacks propelled to 93 wins, the best record since the franchise began, while Ray boasted 12.1 K/9 and held his opponents to a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .199, the best of any Diamondback since Johnson's .197 in 2004. Ray made his first postseason start with innings of

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

in the 2017 National League Wild Card Game against 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 ...

. Although the Diamondbacks won that game and advanced to the 2017 National League Division Series (NLDS), the need to use Ray in the Wild Card Game pushed his start from Game 1 to Game 2 of the NLDS. There, he surrendered three runs in innings of an eventual 8–5 defeat at the hands of 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 ...

. The Dodgers swept the Diamondbacks in three games, eliminating Arizona from postseason contention. After going 2–0 with a 4.88 ERA in his first four starts of the 2018 season, Ray left his April 30 start against the Nationals with a strained oblique muscle and no timetable for his return. He returned on June 27, pitching six innings and allowing two hits in a 2–1 victory over the

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 ...

. Upon his return, Ray struggled with going deep into games: on his third time through the order, batters would hit .286 against him; the season prior, it would take four times through the lineup before his opposing batting average would be that high, He finished the season 6–2 with an ERA of 3.93 in 24 starts. In innings, he struck out 165 batters, and gave up 70 walks. Ray pitched a career high 33 starts in 2019 despite averaging less than 6 innings per start. He was 12–8 with a 4.34 ERA in innings, tying his career best innings pitched from 2016. He also struck out a career-high 235 batters. On August 16, 2020, Ray reached 1,000 MLB career strikeouts. In 2020 with Arizona he was 1–4 with a 7.84 ERA. He led the NL in walks given up (31).

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 31, 2020, the Diamondbacks traded Ray along with cash considerations to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in exchange for

Travis Bergen Travis Michael Bergen (born October 8, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Toronto Blue Jays. ...

. On September 1, 2020, he made his Blue Jays debut. With the 2020 Toronto Blue Jays, Ray appeared in 5 games, compiling a 1–1 record with 4.79 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched. He re-signed with the Blue Jays for the

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

season, signing a 1 year, $8 million contract. On July 11, 2021, Ray took a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

into the 7th inning against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

when a one-out double by

Yandy Díaz Yandy Díaz Fernández (born August 8, 1991) is a Cuban-born professional baseball third baseman and first baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Cleveland Indians. Cuban career Diaz played ...

broke it up. Robbie Ray (51324350436) (cropped)

On August 30, he struck out 10 Orioles and reached 1,000 career innings pitched. His 1,244 strikeouts are the most in Major League history through a player's first 1,000 career innings pitched. Ray finished the 2021 season with a 13–7 record and led the American League in ERA (2.84), strikeouts (248), innings pitched (), and WHIP (1.04). He left 90.1% of runners on base, tops in the majors. Ray won the American League

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...

in a near-unanimous vote, receiving 29 of 30 first-place votes. He also won the

Players Choice Award The Players Choice Awards are annual Major League Baseball awards, given by the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The Players Choice Awards are given following a secret ballot by players. Four awards go to a player in each leagu ...

for AL Outstanding Pitcher.

Seattle Mariners

On November 30, 2021, the

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 ...

signed Ray to a five-year contract worth $115 million, with an opt-out after three years and a no-trade clause. In 2022 he was 12-12 with a 3.71 ERA in 187 innings, and led the majors in pickoffs at first base, with six.

Pitch selection

Ray throws a

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

in the range, topping out at . His primary off-speed pitches are a

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

that averages about and tops out at , and a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

that he throws at about .

Personal life

Ray married Taylor Pasma on November 2014. They have two sons and one daughter. Ray is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Robbie 1991 births Living people American League ERA champions American League strikeout champions Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Tennessee Cy Young Award winners Detroit Tigers players Glendale Desert Dogs players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Major League Baseball pitchers National League All-Stars People from Brentwood, Tennessee Potomac Nationals players Reno Aces players Seattle Mariners players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays players Vermont Lake Monsters players

Early life

Professional career

Washington Nationals organization

Detroit Tigers

Arizona Diamondbacks

Toronto Blue Jays

Seattle Mariners

Pitch selection

Personal life

References

External links