Joey Jay

Joseph Richard Jay

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 228 lb.
• High School Middletown (CT) High School
• Debut July 21, 1953
• Final Game October 2, 1966
• Born August 15, 1935 in Middletown, CT USA
• Died September 27, 2024 in Lutz, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Jay on the cover of the Feb. 1962 Baseball Digest

Joey Jay had a thirteen-year career in the majors but didn't get into more than 18 games in a year until his sixth season. In 1961 and 1962 he won 21 games each year.

Jay was seventeen years old when he first came up in 1953 as a bonus baby, and pitched 10 innings without giving up a run. In spite of that, he didn't pitch more than 20 innings in a season until 1958 when he went 7-5 in just under 100 innings. He was barely a part of the 1957 Milwaukee Braves team that won the World Series (he pitched 2/3 of an inning in the regular season), but was much more a part of the pennant-winning 1958 edition of the team.

He was the youngest player in the National League in each of his first two seasons.

He finally became more of a rotation hurler in 1959 and 1960, getting around 135 innings both seasons.

After the 1960 season he was traded to the Cincinnati Reds, just in time to become part of their surprise pennant-winning 1961 team. He led the National League in victories and was named to his first All-Star team. He started two games the 1961 World Series against the New York Yankees. He pitched a complete game and was a 6-2 winner in game 2 on October 5th, but in Game 5 on October 9th, he did not make it out of the 1st inning. giving up 4 runs, as the Yankees went on to win, 13-5, to take the series. In 1962 the team won 98 games and Jay won 21, but they finished third in the NL, behind the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers who both won over 100 games.

Jay stayed with the Reds through half of the 1966 season, in which he went 6-2 for them. However, when traded back to the Braves, he struggled and was released. In spite of being only 31 years old, he was done with major league baseball. Jay finished with 99 wins, 999 strikeouts and an ERA+ of 99.

Jay was an early "bonus baby" and is said to be the first Little Leaguer to get to the majors. In 1952 he played for the minor league team at St. Albans.

Notable Achievements

• NL All-Star (1961)
• NL Wins Leader (1961)
• NL Shutouts Leader (1961)
• 15 Wins Seasons: 2 (1961 & 1962)
• 20 Wins Seasons: 2 (1961 & 1962)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 2 (1961 & 1962)

Further Reading

• Joseph Wancho: "Joey Jay", in Gregory H. Wolf, ed.: Thar's Joy in Braveland: The 1957 Milwaukee Braves, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2014, pp. 85-91. ISBN 978-1933599717

Related Sites

• Joey Jay at the SABR Bio Project