Bill Bray

Bill Bray played parts of six seasons (2006–08; 2010–12) as a lefty relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds. He pitched 197 1/3 innings in 258 major-league games. His big-league record was 13 wins and 12 losses with three saves. His earned run average was 3.74, and his wins above replacement (WAR) was 2.3. The southpaw was particularly adept against left-handed batters, limiting them to a slash line of .218/.312/.331.

Bray’s career was cut short by injuries, but he enjoyed three distinctions. He was the only player from the College of William & Mary (W&M) to be selected in the first round of Major League Baseball’s player draft. He was also the final first-round draft pick of the Montreal Expos before they relocated to Washington, D.C., to become the Nationals. And he was the only known pitcher to win his debut game in the majors after throwing only one pitch.

William Paul Bray was born on June 5, 1983, in Norfolk, Virginia, but grew up primarily in nearby Virginia Beach. His father, Rhett, was a Virginia state trooper for 37 years.1 His mother, Karen (née Chandler), worked for over 43 years as the Clinical Specialist at Sentara Medical Group for Laboratory Services.2 His only sibling, brother Michael, was four years younger. Bill was raised in a “very loving, very supportive family” with strong public service values. The extended family lived nearby in Norfolk. His family environment enabled his athletic pursuits.3

Bray’s father taught him how to play baseball. Bray said, “Baseball was my favorite sport from the very beginning.”4 He always wanted to be a major-league pitcher. “Baseball was my true love, and I put everything into that,” he said. “To me, it was always something I dreamed I would do. I didn’t really have a backup plan.”5

Not surprisingly, the lefty’s favorite ballplayers were two outstanding left-handed pitchers: Sandy Koufax and Tom Glavine. He said Koufax was “just the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time, and I wanted to be just like him.” He watched Glavine on TBS and observed, “I really wanted to model myself after him.”6

However, Bray’s goal to be a big-league player seemed unlikely when he was a teenager. In his junior year at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, he made the varsity team after two years playing on the JV team. He was not a star. His fastball was in the low 80s, and his curve and changeup were not quite “out pitches.” He had an unorthodox, herky-jerky delivery. Despite his limited pitching time during his varsity career, Oceana Lakes High School honored him by retiring his uniform number in 2026. Bray jokingly said, “I bet no one ever expected that while I was there!”7

Fortunately for Bray, he had a good outing in front of home plate umpire Jim Smith, who was impressed enough to pass on a recommendation to Jim Farr, the baseball coach at W&M in nearby Williamsburg, Virginia.8 Farr (who pitched in five games for the Texas Rangers in 1982) successfully recruited Bray. 

Coach Farr quickly made a major change to Bray’s pitching repertoire. “He told me to get rid of the curveball,” said Bray, and “he taught me the slider,” which would become his out pitch. More critically, the young man also grew three inches and gained 30 pounds in his freshman year of college. When fully grown, he stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 215 pounds. His fastball increased to the low 90s, a 10-mph increase.9 Bray became the team’s closer in his sophomore year, finishing with four wins, three saves, an ERA of 1.95, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 12:1. A successful sophomore year led Bray to play for Orleans in the Cape Cod Baseball League. The wooden bat summer league gave him a chance to play against the best college ballplayers in America. He observed, “Coming from a smaller Division I school, it proved to myself that I can play with high competition—the big schools, the big-name guys…. It also made me realize that going professional was an opportunity.” Looking back, Bray said, “It was the best summer of my life so far, to be honest with you. We won a championship, I established myself as a baseball player there, and I just loved my experience on the Cape. I met my wife, and it really was an overall meaningful experience.”10 Elaine Simon, a registered nurse, and Bray were married in February 2007.11

Major-league teams sent their scouts to the Cape Cod League. They eyed Bray and continued to monitor him when he returned to W&M. His life became more complicated as scouts were always around him, asking for his time. “Every time you go out to the ballpark, someone would watch you,” he recalled. “Every time you go out there, you feel you have to be perfect, especially as a reliever.”12  

Bray had a great junior year season as W&M’s closer. He won four games and had eight saves, an ERA of 2.44, and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.6 to 1. He and his agents, Bobby Witt Sr. and Scott Pucino, had talks with the Diamondbacks and the Yankees about potentially being selected in the first round of the 2004 MLB draft.13

Much to his surprise, Bray was drafted in the first round by the Montreal Expos. Other than filling out questionnaires, he’d had no prior contact with the Expos. He was selected with the number 13 pick in the draft, ahead of the other teams that were interested in him. Bray thus became the first—and, so far, the only—W&M player to go in the first round of the MLB draft.

He said that being drafted was a tremendous relief. The scouts and evaluators had been regularly hovering over him, which was stressful.14 Now he could turn pro and concentrate on pitching. But the negotiations went slowly, and he did not sign the contract until July 30, 2004—53 days after the draft. “There was no turning back,” he said. He wasn’t going back to college.15 The delay was because MLB, which had owned the Expos since 2002, was focused on relocating the team to Washington.16

After signing, Bray pitched six games in the Florida State League in 2004. That fall, he participated in the Arizona Fall Baseball League, pitching for the Peoria Javelinas. The next year, after a two-month stint on the disabled list, he moved quickly up in the Nationals’ minor-league organization. He pitched 12.2 innings in eight games for the Potomac Nationals in the Carolina League (high Class A). He then pitched 5.2 innings in three games for the Harrisburg Senators in the AA Eastern League, finishing the year with New Orleans in the AAA Pacific Coast League. For the Zephyrs, he pitched 21.1 innings in 23 games, averaging 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

In 2006, Bray participated in the Nationals’ spring training camp in Viera, Florida. He was surprised at how much faster the game was at the top level compared to AAA.17 He observed how the established players were mentally focused on the game, consistent, and patient.

The big-leaguers would learn from each pitch. “For me, as a pitcher, I noticed that I could throw a good slider and they’d swing and miss,” Bray said. “And I’d throw the same slider on the next pitch, and he’d spit on it. They wouldn’t swing at it on the same at-bat. They’d just foul it off and wait for me to make a mistake. And when you made that mistake, they wouldn’t miss.”18

Bray started the 2006 season with New Orleans and picked up four wins and five saves in just 31.2 innings, while averaging 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings. The Nationals called him up to the majors, and he made his debut on June 3, 2006, against the Milwaukee Brewers. He promptly made baseball history.

The Brewers were ahead 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth. There were two outs, with Milwaukee’s Corey Koskie on first base following a base on balls. Nats manager Frank Robinson signaled for Bray—who had joined the club just the day before—to take the mound. 

The opposing batter was Prince Fielder, whom Bray had faced in the minors.19 Bray threw his first pitch just as Koskie took off for second in a steal attempt. Fielder did not swing. Nats catcher Brian Schneider caught the ball and gunned it to shortstop Royce Clayton, who tagged out the sliding Koskie to end the inning. 

In the top of the ninth, Schneider hit a two-run homer to give the Nats the lead. Manager Robinson brought in Chad Cordero to finish the game for a 4-3 Nats win. Bray was the pitcher of record.

After the game, a Nats announcer told Bray he was the first and only pitcher to win his debut game by throwing only one pitch.20 Other pitchers had won games after minimal pitches thrown or on a pickoff play. But no pitcher had been as efficient and effective in winning their debut game. Afterward, one of his teammates told him, “You should just retire. It can’t get better than that.”21

Bray performed well in his first six weeks with the Nats, going 1-1 with a 3.91 ERA. But he was stunned when, on July 13, 2006, the Nats traded him to the Cincinnati Reds in an eight-player deal. The Nationals sent Bray, along with reliever Gary Majewski, starting shortstop Clayton, utility infielder Brendan Harris, and minor-league pitcher Daryl Thompson in exchange for Reds starting right fielder Austin Kearns, starting shortstop Felipe López, and reliever Ryan Wagner.

Cincinnati was chasing St. Louis for the Central Division title or perhaps a wild card playoff berth. The Reds’ biggest weakness was their bullpen. “We paid a steep price,” said Cincinnati GM Wayne Krivsky at the time. “I’m sure this will be a controversial trade. I know a lot of people will be leaving nasty messages on my voicemail, and I’ll have some who think it’s great.”22 Bray, a 23-year-old lefty, and Majewski, a 26-year-old righty, were seen as solutions to the Reds’ problems.

Jim Bowden was the Nats’ general manager from 2005–2008, and the Reds’ GM from 1999–2003. He knew all the Reds players and was aware that Cincy needed relief pitching. He drove a hard bargain.

“When you have a chance to trade a middle reliever for an everyday player, that’s helpful. Over the long run, when you look at people’s careers, pitchers are more of a risk as far as injuries than everyday players,” Bowden said post-trade. “It was difficult to trade Majewski and Bray. We feel they are two of the best young relievers in the league. We didn’t want to trade them, but in order to acquire players of the caliber of Austin Kearns and Felipe López, you are going to have to give up a lot.”23

As Bray explained in an October 2021 article he penned for The Sporting News, “Getting traded is an awkward feeling at best. On one hand, I felt like the Nationals were giving up on me. Totally not true, but it was hard to feel like they no longer wanted me. At the same time, it was great to feel wanted by the Reds. The excitement of being on a new team and the new possibilities is exhilarating.”24

“I’ll never forget walking into the clubhouse and meeting Ken Griffey Jr,” Bray wrote. “He laughed when he saw me, all dressed up in a suit, and announced to the clubhouse, “Somebody got traded for the first time!”25

Bray added, “How do you say hello to Ken Griffey Jr.? I had been playing his video games since I was eight and probably had a hundred baseball cards with his picture. Do you say, ‘Hello, Mr. Griffey?’ Do I call him Ken? I think I managed an ‘ummmm.’”26

Bray said the experience of joining a new team was similar to making his big-league debut. He wanted to prove his worth and help the team. From that point until today, he has always identified himself as a Reds player.27

It didn’t take long for Bray to prove himself to his new team. He won his debut on July 15, 2006, against the Rockies. He came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning with the Reds behind 2-1. He retired the Rockies in order. The Reds won in the bottom of the ninth when Chris Denorfia drove in two runs with a walk-off single. Thus, Bray had two debuts and two victories in the first six weeks of his rookie year.

In total, Bray pitched 50.2 innings in 48 games during his 2006 rookie year with the Nats and Reds. He had a 3-2 record with two saves and an ERA of 4.09. 

Bray began the 2007 season on the disabled list and was optioned to the AAA Louisville Bats as part of his rehab. He was 1-2 with a 4.26 ERA in 18 games out of the bullpen for the Bats before being recalled by the Reds in August.

Bray pitched well for the Reds in August 2007, with a 3-1 record and a 2.35 ERA in 7.2 innings. However, he had a bad September. He went 0-2 with one save and a 10.80 ERA in 6.2 innings. He finished 2007 with a 3-3 record and a 6.28 ERA over 14.1 innings.

After being slowed in 2008 spring training by shoulder soreness, Bray opened the season with Louisville. He made nine appearances with the Bats, then was called up in early May and remained with the Reds for the rest of the year. He pitched in 47 innings over 63 games. He finished the season with a 2-2 record and had career-best stats: a 2.87 ERA, 10.9 strikeouts per nine innings, and a 154 ERA+. 

The next year was marred by injuries. Bray again went to spring training with a sore shoulder. Once more, the Reds sent him to Louisville to rebuild his arm strength. He started well with five scoreless innings over three appearances.

However, in his last game, he threw a pitch and instantly felt intense, short-lived pain in his left elbow. “I had a 1-2 count on the batter and two outs in the inning, so I did what any pitcher would do,” Bray wrote in October 2021 for The Sporting News. “I shook out my arm, took a deep breath, thought, ‘This is going to hurt,’ and threw another pitch. That pitch, I do not remember. I only felt pain, and my vision went white. Somehow, the batter popped it up, and I was out of the inning.”28 

A bone spur had punctured the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL). Dr. Timothy Kremchek performed Tommy John surgery.29 He had a new UCL, but Bray was out for the season. He had to rest and rehab for four months before he could start throwing. He said it was the first time he could remember not having a baseball in his hands sometime during the day.30

Bray returned to the Reds in 2010. He started the year in the minors before making his first big-league appearance of the season on June 28. His final stats were 0-2 with a 4.13 ERA over 28.1 innings.

The Reds won the Central Division under manager Dusty Baker in 2010. They faced the Phillies in the NL Division Series. Bray recalled his playoff experience in a Sporting News article:

“I will never forget the immense sense of pride I felt while being introduced in Philadelphia for Game One of the NLDS. Running out onto the field to a mixture of boos (it is Philadelphia, after all) and a few cheers from Reds fans in attendance was exhilarating. I distinctly remember thinking, ‘Don’t trip,’ as I ran up the stairs.”31

Roy Halladay pitched for the Phillies in Game One in his first postseason appearance. Halladay had an amazing year, winning the Cy Young Award in 2010 and throwing a perfect game on May 29, 2010.

In Game One on October 6, 2010, Halladay pitched a no-hitter for a 4-0 win. Jay Bruce earned a walk to spoil the perfect game for the right-hander.

Bray observed Halladay from the bullpen during Game One. He later wrote about it in a Sporting News article dated October 28, 2021: 

“By the end of the second inning, it was apparent that Halladay had something special working. You can’t see minute details from the pen, but you have a pretty good idea of how well a pitcher is throwing from the reaction of the hitters and how much the catcher moves his glove. From my perspective, 400 feet away, Halladay looked filthy. [Carlos] Ruiz wasn’t moving his glove. Roy’s sinker and off-speed pitches seemed to have extra life on them.”32

Manager Dusty Baker called Bray in to pitch the seventh. There were two outs and nobody was on base. “My heart was beating out of my chest. The mix of nerves and adrenaline was intense,” he wrote. Bray retired Chase Utley on two pitches. The crowd roared as he walked off the field. “I got lost in the game and forgot that Halladay had a no-hitter going. As I walked off the field, the stadium erupted. I remember thinking, “What’s going on? Why am I getting a standing ovation?” Then I started hearing ‘Roy, Roy, Roy.’  That’s when I remembered what was going on.”33

Bray returned for the bottom of the eighth and neatly retired Ryan Howard, Jason Werth, and Raul Ibáñez in succession. Bray called this game his career highlight. “Sort of a backwards highlight,” he joked.34

In an interview after his retirement, he explained, “Being a part of that game, being on the losing side, at the time was devastating. But looking back now, I got to play in a game that has only happened twice in the history of the major leagues [a no-hitter in the playoffs]. I cherish that moment.”35

The Reds were swept 3-0 by Philadelphia. Bray made two appearances in the series, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings and retiring every batter he faced.

Bray played the entire 2011 season for Cincinnati. He went 5-3 with a 2.98 ERA in 48.1 innings across 79 appearances. However, the Reds slumped in 2011, finishing 79–83 and in third place.

Injuries caught up with Bray in 2012. He appeared in 14 games for the Reds and 16 games in the minors as he battled shoulder soreness, groin strains, and lingering back issues. “Personally, I think my injury later in my career was from overuse of sliders. I would come in and throw 10 sliders in a row,” said Bray.36

The Reds released Bray and granted him free agency in November 2012. A month later, he signed with the Nationals and appeared in four minor-league games with the Harrisburg Senators in 2013 before injuring his arm once more. He tore his left labrum and had surgery to fix it in June 2013. He finished out the season rehabbing his shoulder at the Nationals’ minor-league spring training facility in Viera, Florida.

Bray developed a post-career plan during his last few injury-filled seasons. Fortunately for him, his agents had struck a deal with the Expos in 2004 so that the ballclub would provide Bill extra bonus money to pay for his remaining undergraduate education at William & Mary.37 The Nationals honored this proviso.

Bray returned to Williamsburg in late 2013 and re-enrolled at W&M. While rehabilitating his shoulder in 2013, Bray discovered he had re-torn his labrum, which would have required an additional year of therapy. On the drive home from the doctor’s office, he decided it was time to retire.38

Bray graduated from W&M in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in finance. After graduating, he enrolled in the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at W&M and earned his degree in 2018. He is now a partner in a law firm in Williamsburg, focusing on real estate and business law. He may find his way back into the business side of baseball, but for now, he is happy practicing law in Williamsburg and raising four kids along with his wife, Elaine.39

Last revised: March 24, 2026

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to Bill Bray for contributing his memories.

This biography was reviewed by Rory Costello and Natalie Montanez and checked for accuracy by SABR’s fact-checking team.

Photo credit: Bill Bray, Trading Card Database.

Sources

In addition to the sources shown in the notes, the author used statistics from baseball-reference.com, fangraphs.com, and baseball-almanac.com.

Notes

1 Summary of the Zoom meeting between Bill Bray and Paul Boren, September 19, 2025 (hereafter Bray-Boren interview #1).

2 Email from Bill Bray to Paul Boren, March 8, 2026,

3 Bray-Boren interview #1.

4 Interview by Ross Carey, “Replacement Level Podcast, Baseball Content for Baseball Nerds,” Episode 38: Bill Bray, August 18, 2014 (hereafter Bray-Carey interview).

5 Bray-Carey interview.

6 Conor Ryan, “Bill Bray, Pitching Coach,” Cape Cod Times, July 23, 2015.

7 Email from Bill Bray to Paul Boren, March 8, 2026,

8 Bray-Boren interview #1.

9 Bray-Boren interview #1

10 Ryan, “Bill Bray, Pitching Coach.”

11 “Bray-Simon,” Cape Cod Times, February 11, 2007.

12 Bray-Carey interview.

13 Bray-Boren interview #1.

14 Bray-Carey interview.

15 Bray-Boren interview #1.

16 Baseball Reference, Bill Bray

17 Bray-Boren interview #1.

18 Bray-Carey interview.

19 Bray-Boren interview #1.

20 Phone conversation between Bill Bray and Paul Boren, December 11, 2025.

21 Interview by Grant Freking, “Q&A with former Reds reliever Bill Bray: Part I,” Redleg Nation, June 23. 2015.

22 Grant Freking, “Revisiting the Eight Player Reds-Nationals trade, what we knew in 2006 and what we know now,” Redleg Nation, July 7, 2015.

23 “Reds hope trade will boost relief pitching,” Associated Press, July 14, 2006.

24 Bill Bray, “Bray: Getting Traded Takes Some Getting Used To,” The Sporting News, October 27, 2021.

25 Bray, “Bray: Getting Traded Takes Some Getting Used To.”

26 Bray, “Bray: Getting Traded Takes Some Getting Used To.”

27 Bray, “Bray: Getting Traded Takes Some Getting Used To.”

28 Bill Bray, “Bray: Tommy John is so much more than one surgery,” The Sporting News, October 27. 2021.

29 Bray, “Bray: Tommy John is so much more than one surgery.”

30 Bray-Carey interview.

31 Bill Bray, “Bray: Playoff experiences last a lifetime,” The Sporting News, October 28, 2021.

32 Bill Bray, “Bray: Being on the other side of historic no-hitter, is well, historical,” The Sporting News, October 28, 2021.

33 Bray, “Bray: Being on the other side of historic no-hitter, is well, historical.”

34 Jim Ducibella, “When it comes to his degree, Bray won’t be shut out,” William & Mary News Archive, 2014.

35 Ryan, “Bill Bray, Pitching Coach.”

36 Bray-Carey interview.

37 Ducibella, “When it comes to his degree, Bray won’t be shut out,”

38 Bray-Boren interview #1.

39 Email from Bill Bray to Paul Boren, December 11, 2025.