Larry Ray

Larry Dale Ray was born at King’s Daughter’s Hospital in Madison, Indiana, on March 11, 1958. The youngest of nine children, he was raised with a farming family near Vevay, Indiana. Ray’s parents, William and Dorothy Ray, had a dairy farm and grew tobacco. Larry worked the family fields as well as those of other tobacco farmers.1

Reflecting on his early years, Ray said, “My spare time was spent hunting and fishing with my older brothers. I also played ball – we called it ball then, not baseball – with my friends.

“I started to dream of playing baseball early on but work always came first – then ball. My dad liked baseball so that made it a little easier when I decided to try out for little league and later to play baseball in school.

“As I grew older, my success on the baseball field began to be recognized, but it was the work in those tobacco fields that helped me maintain a strong work ethic and helped me become physically strong. That work ethic and physical strength allowed me to play four years of high school baseball under Coach Bernie Burke.”

Despite never going to practice because he had to work on the farm,2 Ray was instrumental in his Switzerland County High School team’s winning the Ohio River Conference championship with a 14-0 record in his senior year, 1976. In the two games that clinched the title, Ray hit three home runs and, though he was primarily an outfielder, was the starting and winning pitcher for the second game. Ray was the conference batting champion (.558) and was Most Valuable Player.3

After graduation, Ray led the Madison American Legion team in hitting4 before heading to Roane State College (Harriman, Tennessee) on an athletic scholarship.5 After one year, Ray moved to Kentucky Wesleyan College. In his first season, 1977, he was the leading hitter for Kentucky Wesleyan with a .365 batting average.6 In 1978 Ray batted .3357 while setting school records with 8 home runs and 36 walks.8

By his third season, 1979, Ray was looking for the opportunity to become a professional. He told (a) sportswriter, “I’d rather do that than be in school next year. … I don’t like school.” Ray felt, at 21, “It’s getting late. … I’m about as old as I can get for them to take me. If I don’t make it this year, I’m not going to make it.”9

Ray batted .413 in his third season with Kentucky Wesleyan. After watching Ray play during the season, Houston Astros scout Ray Holton graded him 46 of a possible 50 (major-league ready), which meant that “with just a little polish and experience he will be ready for the major leagues.”10

After his third season at Kentucky Wesleyan, Ray held school records for games played (117), hits (122), home runs (16), RBIs (83), and stolen bases (22).11 The season over, he went home to Vevay, Indiana, to wait for the 1979 major-league amateur draft. He had been contacted by numerous teams in both leagues.12

Ray “was just lying around the house” when the phone call he was hoping for came. It was the Astros’ Walt Matthews telling him the club had drafted him in the fourth round.13 He later learned from his college baseball coach, Corky Withrow, that “Montreal meant to pick him in the third round, and, in fact, thought they had.” According to Withrow, “Montreal picked him, but their choice wasn’t recorded properly or acknowledged, so he was still available in the fourth round.”14

Ray signed an Astros contract that included a $15,000 signing bonus with a $650 monthly salary, then headed for the Astros’ minor-league facilities in Sarasota, Florida. Before beginning his trip, Ray told the hometown Vevay Reveille-Enterprise he thought “it will probably take him two years to make the (Astros).”15

Ray remembered: “Four days after the draft, I drove 17 hours from Vevay to Sarasota, stopping only for gas. Once in Sarasota, I stayed the night in a motel before reporting to rookie ball the next morning. We practiced for 10 days before starting actual games in the Rookie League. We would practice from 8:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M. and have lunch. Then, at 12 noon, we would play a game against rookies from other teams.”

“On the day the first ‘real’ Rookie League game was scheduled, Julio Linares, the Astros Rookie league manager, called me in his office and said: ‘Ray, you are going to the Astros Daytona Beach A ball team.’”

Ray played 62 games for Daytona Beach in 1979, batting .256 with three home runs. His manager, Carlos Alfonso, called his performance “not all that impressive.” Alfonso added, “He was a raw individual when he reported last summer. … He was so raw that players like him usually aren’t even drafted. … He’s got a lot of tools. Right now, the question is developing those tools. … Some kids are born with bats in their hands. Ray was born with a plow in his.”16

Six weeks into the 1980 season, Ray was being touted by a sportswriter as “possibly the finest all-around hitter in the Class A Florida State League.” At the time, he was leading the league with 26 RBIs while his four home runs were second and his .327 batting average was fourth.17

At the same time, not all was great. After a late May game in which he Ray (he Ray?) struck out three times before being lifted for a pinch-hitter, Orlando Sentinel sportswriter Tim Povtak wrote: “The Stinger got stung bad the other night – real bad. … Larry Ray may be a fast learner, but he’s still got some homework to do. … Ray was grossly overmatched Monday night.”18

Ray’s response to being overmatched: “I may be a little behind because of my background. In fact, I had never even seen a slider before I came here. But I figure, if I have the talent, it’ll come together quick enough. If not, I might go back and farm.”19

He didn’t have to go back to the farm. Instead, he was “among the hitting leaders all season.” The week of July 20 he was named the league’s Player of the Week after going 9-for-20 with six RBIs.20 He was named Player of the Week again21 and was named the most valuable player of the league’s Northern Division.22 (I found it interesting that his manager did not pick him as the team MVP while he was picked the division’s MVP)

After the season Ray played winter-league baseball in Barranquilla, Colombia. “The first month in Barranquilla was difficult,” he recalled. “The accommodations they had for us had wooden beds, no mattresses. I was accustomed to working long hard days in the tobacco and hay fields back home, but when I laid my head down at night, I had a comfortable bed. The sleeping conditions in Barranquilla were not so nice. The guys on the team got together and made it clear that either we got new accommodations, or we would be leaving. Someone must have listened – the next place was better.

“Communication was a challenge, to say the least. In the beginning the only place we went was from the hotel to the ballpark. Eating was another challenge. I lost 30 pounds in the four months I was there.”

“We would travel to Cartagena, where we played against other teams. When we left the games, the opposing team’s fans would often throw rocks at our bus. We had several windows broken. It was scary at times. But since we won the Colombian league that year, maybe that explains the rocks.”

The 1981 season started with a promotion to the Double-A Southern League Columbus Astros. Playing for manager Matt Galante, Ray saw his batting average slide to .253 but he hit 21 home runs with 107 RBIs and was selected to the league all-star team.23 In the offseason he was added to the Houston Astros’ 40-man roster24 and was invited to spring training with the Astros.

Of his first spring-training day, Ray said, “It was pretty cool walking into that major-league clubhouse for the first time. Looking around the room I recognized all the great players that were on that team and it was a great feeling to think that I was getting close to joining them. My number was 37 – it was a great number to have! Just next to my locker, there was number 34 Nolan Ryan, number 36 Joe Niekro, number 37, Larry Ray (me!), number 38 Tim Tolman, and number 50 J.R. Richard.”

Two of his favorite memories of the 1982 spring training involved Richard and Ryan.

In a split-squad game, after Richard had walked the first two batters he faced, Ray came to the plate. The first two pitches were called balls. Ray said, “I had never seen a baseball thrown that hard. I was thinking, here we go. If I hit it hard in this situation, I could really help myself. I dug in knowing that I was about to see a 100-mph fastball coming my way. My guess was right, but the location wasn’t – JR drilled me in the back.”

As for Nolan Ryan, Ray said, “The first time I met Nolan Ryan, our manager, Bill Virdon, made everyone stand up and introduce themselves, saying where they were from and where they played. Virdon told Nolan to introduce himself but he wouldn’t. Virdon told him again so Nolan started standing (at that moment it seemed like it took him forever to stand up). When he was standing, he tugged at his pants and what he said sounded something like this … ‘I am Nolan Ryan and I own the state of Texas!’”

With seven spring training days left, Ray was sent to the Tucson Toros of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. At the start, it took time for Toros center fielder Scott Loucks and Ray, playing right field, to get comfortable with each other’s range, speed, and ability.25

On May 13 Salt Lake Gulls pitcher Bob Stoddard had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning against the Toros. Ray broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single.26 Shortly thereafter, he suffered a hand injury that caused him to miss 15 games.27

Once he returned to action, Ray continued to hit PCL pitching until an August 10 game against the Phoenix Giants. He suffered strained ligaments in his left ankle when he jammed his foot into the right-field fence going for a fly ball.28 Ray did not return to the field until August 28. After two innings he was replaced after noticeably limping. In those two innings, Ray hit his 15th home run which, despite his missing 32 games29 with injuries, led the team.30

Though his leg injury limited his play in August, Ray was called up by the Astros when rosters expanded on September 1.31

Toros manager Jimmy Johnson played a little joke on Ray, calling him into the office to discuss the need for the Toros to finish strong in their last four games. When Ray started to leave the office, Johnson, using his nickname, said: “LRay, wait a minute. You are not going to play the last four games this season. You are going to Houston – as soon as you get your bags packed.”

Ray said, “I went to my apartment, loaded my Ford Bronco, and headed to Houston. I got out my Texas map and started the 20-hour trip. I arrived in Houston at 4:00 A.M. and before 6:00 A.M. my Ford Bronco had been stolen.”

“Just seeing the Astrodome for the first time was awesome. But, walking into the locker room and seeing my own personal locker with my name on it was AMAZING! I remember looking around and seeing all the names … Ryan, Sutton, Niekro and (José) Cruz. I knew I was in the big leagues. The most exciting part, however, was getting dressed and walking down the tunnel and then onto the field. It was priceless.”

Then came Friday, September 10, 1982. Facing right-hander Tom Niedenfuer, Ray pinch-hit for Nolan Ryan. It was his first major-league at-bat and he was admittedly nervous in front of all the Houston fans. He struck out. “I didn’t get a hit – but at 24, I became an official major-league baseball player that day.”

His first and only major-league hit came the next time he faced Niedenfuer, on September 17 at Dodger Stadium. The Astros were losing 9-2, and it was the top of the ninth. With a runner on first and one out, he was sent in to pinch-hit for Randy Moffitt. He singled to left field. “Steve Garvey, the Dodgers first baseman, asked me if that was my first hit and I told him, ‘Yes, sir, it was.’ He called time, gave me the ball, shook my hand, and said congratulations and that he hoped I got a bunch more, just not against the Dodgers!”

Ray got his first and only major-league start on October 2, against the Cincinnati Reds. In the sixth inning, he capped off a four-run rally with a sacrifice fly for his only major-league RBI.32

After appearing in five games to finish out the 1982 season with the Astros, Ray returned to the Tucson Toros for the start of the 1983 season. Manager Matt Galante called Ray one of the team’s “only legitimate power hitters.”33

Having played right field throughout his professional career, Ray was moved to left field for the 1983 season. (A)sked if he thought the reason for the shift to left field might be that the Astros’ left fielder was 36-year-old José Cruz, Ray said: “I hope that’s what they’re trying to do, I’d love to be up there. I think it is (my position).”34

Ray hit a walk-off home run on May 29 against Salt Lake City Gulls, but by late July he had missed several games with tendinitis in his right shoulder35 and several more with a tender right (throwing) elbow,36 which for a time kept him from throwing or swinging a bat.37

Despite his injuries, by the end of July, Ray continued to show power, hitting .296 with 11 home runs, 21 doubles and 69 RBIs.38 Before his elbow injury, he had thrown out nine baserunners.39

From that point on, Ray was “relegated to be a designated hitter and pinch-hitter.”40 He said his arm bothered him most of the season, but that the tendinitis wasn’t diagnosed until July. He told a sportswriter: “I just got it from throwing. I could field … but why take a chance this late in the season is the way they feel about it … and they’re right. But I don’t like not playing the field.”41

A designated hitter the last month, Ray, with his team-leading .308 average, was named the Toros’ MVP.42 When the Astros expanded their 1983 roster, he was not on the call-up list.43 The Astros decision was perhaps because the Astros were in the National League in 1983 and Ray had finished the year restricted to being a designated hitter.

As the 1984 season rolled around, Ray was once again assigned to the Toros.44 Hoping for a big year, he got off to a poor start, hitting just .059 with one home run and four RBIs through his first 34 at-bats.45 A week later, after a three-hit game, he had raised his batting average to .125.

He said, “I feel a lot better. I’m back to my old self, I think.”46 The reason for his slump: “I’ve been tentative at the plate. I’ve been on my front foot, leaning forward. Plus, I’ve been pressing too much.”47

But after 21 games, Ray had only raised his average to .174. Still, he told Jim Elsleger of the Arizona Daily Star, “(My) ticket to the major leagues definitely will be earned at the plate.” He also told Elsleger “he considered himself to be an above-average fielder.”48

Elsleger disagreed, writing, “he’ll probably never be put in a game for defensive purposes.”49

By mid-June, Ray’s batting average had improved to .233 when he was loaned to the Philadelphia Phillies affiliate Portland Beavers to open up a roster spot for the Toros(I think I would have “when, to open a roster spot for the Toros, he was loaned. . .”) .50 Ray was to “remain in Portland until after the season, when he will either be reclaimed, traded, or bought outright.”51

A week after reporting to Portland, Ray seemed to have regained his power as he hit two home runs and had a game-winning RBI against the Las Vegas Stars.52 By the end of the season, he had 12 home runs and 63 RBIs.

When the Astros announced the 1985 Toros roster, Ray was included.53 However, instead of the Toros, Ray played for the Mexico City Diablos Rojos in the Mexican League.54

Playing for the Diablos Rojos (Red Devils), Ray remembered bad roads, buses, and hotels without air-conditioning, and a Mexican League championship. Three days after he left Mexico City, the city suffered an 8.0 magnitude earthquake that killed over 10,000 people.55

After three years without another call-up to the major leagues, Ray considered retirement. That thought changed when Bill Wood, the Astros’ minor-league coordinator, asked him if he would be interested in playing and helping the young players on the Double-A Columbus Astros in 1986. Columbus had many good players, the most recognizable being Ken Caminiti. Even with Caminiti, Columbus was 24-48 when manager Dave Cripe was replaced by Gary Tuck. Columbus went on to make the playoffs and win the Southern League championship.

Jeff Datz, who debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1989 and was with Columbus in 1986, said Ray and Tuck were responsible for the team’s turn-around. Datz said, “LRay was respected by all. He was a quiet leader – when he spoke, we listened. When he came to Double-A Columbus he had already been in the major leagues and had had three or four successful Triple-A seasons. He could have snubbed the younger players – but he never did. Instead, he took Columbus from worst to first. He was the reason I have a championship ring from that season.56

“Larry treated everyone the same both on and off the field. He took me under his wing and worked with me day after day. He is the type of guy who back in the day would give the shirt off his back – and he still will today”57

Datz said his favorite memory of Ray happened on June 30, 1986, the day Bo Jackson made his professional baseball debut against Columbus. “ABC cut into the game to see Bo’s first at-bat. I was catching and was asked to go to the mound and stall a minute so ABC could be ready. Besides ABC, many journalists were at the game to watch Bo. That night, LRay stole the show by hitting two home runs. Larry was interviewed after the game but didn’t want the fanfare. He never did. He was always a quiet leader who mentored and supported his teammates. He was never about himself.”58

Ray finished the season with 24 home runs and 108 RBIs and was named to the Southern League All-Star team.59 He was not recalled by Houston.

By 1987, Ray was 29 years old and back in Triple A with the Pacific Coast League Vancouver Canadians, a Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate. He says he was loaned there. After 16 games, 19 official at-bats, and a .053 batting average, he retired from professional baseball.

After retiring from baseball, Ray began working in automotive equipment sales. He and his wife, Robin, have five children between them. Ray has three sons – Dylan, Tanner, and Logan. Robin’s children are Amanda and Michael. Larry Ray went to Little Rock after he retired from baseball. He continues to work in the same field, but now in Nashville, Tennessee.

On October 29, 2015, Ray was inducted into the inaugural class of the Switzerland County (Indiana) Athletic Hall of Fame.60

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com

Notes

1 All biographical information not directly attributed to a specific source comes from several phone, email, and face-to-face interviews/conversations with Larry Ray between July 1, 2015, and October 1, 2015.

2 Tim Povtak, “Stinger,” Orlando Sentinel, May 22, 1980, 100.

3 “The Pacers: Baseballers win ORVC title,” Vevay (Indiana) Reveille-Enterprise, May 27, 1976: 7.

4 “Larry Ray,” Vevay Reveille-Enterprise, August 19, 1976: 10.

5 “College-Bound!” Vevay Reveille-Enterprise, September 9, 1976: 4.

6 “Baseball,” Owensboro (Kentucky) Messenger-Inquirer, September 9, 1977: 11.

7 “Pro Prospect Wesleyan’s Ray Isn’t Amused by 10-6 Laugher in Home Opener,” Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, March 30, 1979: 14.

8 “Leave it to Seaver,” Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, May 12, 1978: 12.

9 “Pro Prospect Wesleyan’s Ray Isn’t amused.”

10 “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, June 7, 1979: 13.

11 “Astros Call Up KWC grad,” Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, September 1, 1982: 15.

12 “Astros Draft Larry Ray,” Vevay Reveille-Enterprise, June 7, 1979: 2.

13 “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

14 “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”

15 “Larry Ray Signs with the Houston Astros,” Vevay Reveille-Enterprise, June 14, 1979: 1.

16 Povtak.

17 Povtak.

18 Povtak.

19 Povtak.

20 “Score Board,” Fort Myers (Florida) News-Press, July 27, 1980: 50.

21 “Astros’ Strucher Captures FSL,” Orlando Sentinel, September 21, 1980: 393.

22 “Astronotes,” Orlando Sentinel, August 22, 1980: 57.

23 milb.com/southern/history/postseason-all-star-teams.

24 “Who’s Who for the Toros,” Arizona Daily Star (Tucson), April 9, 1982: 74.

25 Jack Magruder, “Canadians, Toros Lack Precision; Toros Lack Victory,” Arizona Daily Star, April 18, 1982.

26 “Salt Lake Tops Toros on 4-hitter,” Arizona Daily Star, May 14, 1982: 63.

27 “Toros Notes,” Arizona Daily Star, June 6, 1982: 25.

28 “Toros Notes,” Arizona Daily Star, August 13, 1982: 30.

29 “Injuries Depleted Team,” Arizona Daily Star, September 2, 1982: 29.

30 “Toros Notes,” Arizona Daily Star, August 30, 1982: 14.

31 “Deals,” Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, August 31, 1982: 9.

32 “Big Inning Boosts Astros Over Reds,” Marion (Ohio) Star, October 3, 1982: 21.

33 “Here’s How Toros Line Up,” Arizona Daily Star, April 8, 1983: 74.

34 “Toros Notebook,” Arizona Daily Star, July 31, 1983: 36.

35 “Galante Calls Shot.”

36 “Toros Lose to Las Vegas,” Arizona Daily Star, July 30, 1983: 56.

37 “Toros Lose in 9th,” Tucson Citizen, August 2, 1983: 16.

38 Toros Lose in 9th.”

39 “Toros Notebook,” Arizona Daily Star, July 31, 1983: 36.

40 Jim Elsleger, “Toros Beat Giants, 6-2, as Ray Sits,” Arizona Daily Star, August 26, 1983: 59.

41 “Tucson Triumphs over Phoenix, 6-2,” Arizona Daily Star, August 26, 1983: 62.

42 “Toros Notes,” Arizona Daily Star, August 29, 1983: 4. At the time, the newspaper reported his average as .307.

43 Mike Chesnick, “Astros Call Up 5 from Toros,” Tucson Citizen, August 27, 1983: 12.

44 “Many ’83 Toros Return,” Arizona Daily Star, April 15, 1984: 46.

45 Mark Emmons, “Ray Hits in Ninth,” Tucson Citizen, April 23, 1984: 32.

46 “Toros Take Southern Division Lead,” Arizona Daily Star, April 27, 1984: 13.

47 Jim Elsleger, “Ray’s Hopes Still High Despite Slump,” Arizona Daily Star, May 7, 1984: 21.

48 “Ray’s Hopes Still High Despite Slump.”

49“Ray’s Hopes Still High Despite Slump.”

50 “Notable,” Tucson Citizen, June 23, 1984: 22.

51 “Toros Notes,” Arizona Daily Star, June 24, 1984: 12.

52 “Bevos Win, 6-5,” Statesman Journal (Salem, Oregon), June 29, 1984: 12.

53 “Sports Writers’ Notebook,” Arizona Daily Star, November 18, 1984: 40.

54 statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-mr12961/y-1985.

55 britannica.com/event/Mexico-City-earthquake-of-1985.

56 Interview with Jeff Datz.

57 Interview with Jeff Datz.

58 Interview with Jeff Datz.

59 “League honors Glavine, Steinbach,” Greenville (South Carolina) News, September 2, 1986: 5.

60 vevaynewspapers.com/first-hall-of-fame-class-is-announced.