Larry Ray

Larry Dale Ray

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.
• School Roane State Community College, Kentucky Wesleyan College
• High School Switzerland County Senior High School
• Debut September 10, 1982
• Final Game October 2, 1982
• Born March 11, 1958 in Madison, IN USA
• Died July 23, 2023 in Double Springs, AL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Larry Ray played nine years in professional baseball, including a cup of coffee in the majors. He twice drove in over 100 runs in the minor leagues and played five years in AAA.

A 4th-round draft pick of the Houston Astros in the 1979 amateur draft, Ray debuted in high class A with the Daytona Beach Astros and hit .256/~.335/.346 in 62 games, better than Johnny Ray did that year for the same team. Returning to the team in 1980, he made the Florida State League All-Star team. He batted .298/~.413/.427 and stole 17 bases in 22 tries. He was fourth in the FSL in batting average, 3 points behind Gary Redus. He appears to have been third in the league in OBP.

Moving up to the Columbus Astros in 1981, Ray hit .253/.323/.479 with 33 doubles, 9 triples, 21 home runs, 107 RBI and 128 strikeouts in 136 games. He tied Willie McGee for the last Southern League All-Star spot in the outfield. Larry led the SL in both RBI and strikeouts. He was second in doubles, two behind leader Don Mattingly. Larry got a September call-up to the 1981 Astros and went 1 for 6 with an RBI and four strikeouts, used primarily as a pinch-hitter. It would be his only glance at the majors.

Ray spent his first season with the Tucson Toros in 1982, batting .294/.369/.501 in 107 games in the high-flying Pacific Coast League. He had 7 triples, 15 HR and 79 RBI. Ray returned to Tucson for another good year in 1983, hitting .307/.406/.490 in 117 games; he drove in 80.

In 1984, Larry split the year between Tucson (53 games) and the Portland Beavers (63 games), slipping to a .258/~.342/.452 line overall. Remaining a solid producer and still only 26 years old, neither Houston nor the Philadelphia Phillies called him up.

Ray moved to the Mexican League for 1985, joining the Mexico City Red Devils. He batted .274/~.399/.452 in 76 games, drawing 50 walks and hit two homers in the final series to give the Red Devils a title. In 1986, he returned to the USA, playing with the Columbus Astros once again. Now mostly a DH, Larry hit .275/~.384/.472 with 88 runs, 24 homers, 108 RBI and 75 walks. He tied for fifth in the Southern League in circuit clouts and was third in RBI (behind Terry Steinbach and Jeff Reynolds.

Larry closed out his career with the 1987 Vancouver Canadians, hitting a disappointing 1 for 19 with 4 walks and 4 strikeouts in 16 games, all at DH or as a pinch-hitter.

Sources: 1980-1985 Baseball Guides, 1986-1987 Baseball America Statistics Reports, 1988 Baseball Almanac, The Mexican League: Comprehensive Player Statistics by Pedro Treto Cisneros

Related Sites

• Larry Ray at the SABR Bio Project
• Interview with Larry Ray