Ken Ray

Kenneth Alan Ray
(The Key)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 200 lb.
• High School Roswell (GA) High School
• Debut July 10, 1999
• Final Game September 30, 2006
• Born November 27, 1974 in Atlanta, GA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Ken Ray, who started in the minors in 1993, appeared in the majors in 1999, when he pitched 13 games for the Kansas City Royals, and then was back in the minors. He returned to the majors with the Atlanta Braves in 2006, and in 2007 was in AAA. A gaffe during his days with the Royals resulted in being announced as "Key Ray"; the "Key" stuck.

With the Royals in 1999, he was the same age as teammate Jeremy Giambi and went 1-0, 874, pitching exclusively in relief. he gave up 23 hits and 6 walks in 11 1/3 innings, while striking out none, so he came by his bloated ERA honestly. He set a record for most appearances in a season without striking out a single batter at 13. With the Braves in 2006, he was three years younger than teammate Chipper Jones. Ray pitched 69 games in 2006, second on the staff to Macay McBride, and was even the team's closer for a short span in mid-season. He went 1-1, 4.52 with 5 saves. By the second half of 2007, neither Ray nor McBride was pitching for the Braves anymore, however.

Ray signed with Taiwan's La New Bears for 2010. He debuted on March 23rd, allowing one run in a five-inning start despite six hits and three walks. He had a very solid year in the CPBL, going 7-8, 2.32 in 25 games (24 starts). He returned in 2011 to go 13-10, 2.85 for the Lamigo Monkeys, and in 2012 was 7-7, 3.90 for Lamigo at age 37. By then, he was also pitching winter ball every year, and managed to land a contract in Nippon Pro Baseball in 2013, when he joined the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. He spent most of that year on Rakuten's minor league ni-gun squad, making just 5 appearances at the top level. He returned to Taiwan in 2014, going 9-5, 2.17 in 17 starts for Lamigo, a performance which gave him another shot at playing in Japan. This time, he made the most of it, including going 5-7, 3.79 at the top level in 2015. He finally retired after the 2016 season, which was again spent mainly in the minor league Eastern League. He was 41 at the time, having had quite the remarkable career.