William Paul Bray (born June 5, 1983) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Amateur career

A native of

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city (United States), independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 United States cen ...

, Bray attended Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach. He is a graduate of the

College of William and Mary The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William ...

. In 2003, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate ...

for the

Orleans Cardinals The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play t ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

Professional career

Washington Nationals

The

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

William Bray was the 13th overall selection in the 2004 draft by the former

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They p ...

franchise which relocated to Washington, D.C. and was renamed the

. Bray made his Major League debut on June 3, 2006, against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, earning a 1-pitch win.

Cincinnati Reds

Almost a month later, on July 13, 2006, Bray, along with infielders

Royce Clayton Royce Spencer Clayton (born January 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Col ...

and Brendan Harris, reliever

Gary Majewski Gary Wayne Majewski (; born February 26, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, and Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). Career Majewski gradua ...

and starter Daryl Thompson were traded to the

for

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Austin Kearns Austin Ryan Kearns (born May 20, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 through 2013 for the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and ...

, infielder Felipe Lopez and pitcher Ryan Wagner. Bray began the 2009 season with the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the winged mammal and baseball ...

after failing to earn a spot on the Reds' roster. After only a few games in Louisville, Bray underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's ...

to repair his left elbow and missed the rest of the year. Bray was called up from Triple-A

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

June 27, and made his 2010 debut with the Reds on June 28, 2010, pitching one inning vs the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

. In six seasons with the Reds, with 2008 and 2011 being his best, Bray's record was 12–11 with a 3.72 ERA while striking out 172 in 174.1 innings in 258 appearances. On November 8, 2012, Bray elected free agency after a disappointing 2012 season in which he only pitched in 14 games.

Return to Washington

On December 3, 2012, Bray returned to the Nationals on a minor league contract. He went to spring training with the Nationals, but on March 4, 2013, he was cut and sent back to their minor league camp. Bray announced his retirement via his Twitter account on March 16, 2014.

Coaching career

In 2015, Bray returned to Orleans of the Cape Cod Baseball League to serve as the pitching coach for his former team.

Personal

Bray and his wife, Elaine, were married on December 2, 2006. They have three daughters and one son. Following baseball, he returned to William & Mary to finish his undergraduate degree in finance. He graduated in May 2015, and began attending William & Mary law school that fall. He has also written multiple articles for Sporting News. In 2012, Bray shaved his head in an effort to raise funds for pediatric cancer.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Bill 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Virginia Beach, Virginia Baseball coaches from Virginia Baseball players from Virginia Major League Baseball pitchers Washington Nationals players Cincinnati Reds players William & Mary Tribe baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Cape Cod Baseball League coaches Brevard County Manatees players New Orleans Zephyrs players Harrisburg Senators players Potomac Nationals players Sarasota Reds players Lynchburg Hillcats players Louisville Bats players Dayton Dragons players Peoria Javelinas players William & Mary Law School alumni Virginia lawyers 21st-century American lawyers