Joseph Richard Jay (August 15, 1935 – September 27, 2024) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from through , Jay played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1953–, –, 1966), and

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

(–1966). He was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. In a 13-season big league career, Jay posted a 99–91 win–loss record, with 999

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

, and a 3.77

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA), in

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. In July 2008, he was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.

Bonus baby

In addition to being the first Little League player to advance to the major leagues, Jay was one of the first " bonus baby" players in the major leagues. This resulted when he signed a significant contract ($20,000) with the Braves, which forced the Braves to keep Jay on their major league roster for two seasons because of the contract's amount. On September 20, 1953, at the age of 17, making his first career start (having pitched only one game in relief previous), he pitched a seven-inning complete game shutout (the game was shortened due to rain), but generally was unremarkable in his two years with the team. Following the end of his two years, he was sent to the minors to gain experience on a staff that already was loaded with Hall of Famer

Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...

, Bob Buhl and Lew Burdette. Jay went 7–5 with an ERA of 2.14 in 18 games for the Braves in his best season (1958), becoming the first pitcher (fourth player overall) to win the NL Player of the Month award in July (going 5-2 in seven starts, posting an ERA of 1.39, and earning 46 strikeouts in innings) but a broken finger kept him out of the World Series.

Second chance with Cincinnati

The Braves traded Jay to the

after the 1960 season for infielder

Roy McMillan Roy David McMillan (July 17, 1929 – November 2, 1997) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1951 to 1966, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, wh ...

. Braves General Manager at the time, John McHale, reportedly made the deal based on the feeling Carl Willey could do a better job for Milwaukee than Jay. Jay took full advantage of the trade, as he became a key figure in the Reds' stunning revival in 1961. Jay won 21 games (the first pitcher to win 20 since Ewell Blackwell in 1947), tied for the league lead in wins and shutouts, and won his second NL Player of the Month award in May (winning all six starts, including a May 4 one-hitter against the Phillies, a 2.72 ERA, and 38 strikeouts in innings) as the Reds surged to their first National League pennant since 1940. However, the Reds faced a powerful

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

club which won 109 games and featured

Roger Maris Roger Eugene Maris (born Maras; September 10, 1934 – December 14, 1985) was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is best known for setting a new List of Major League Baseball p ...

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

and

Whitey Ford Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (October 21, 1928 – October 8, 2020), nicknamed "the Chairman of the Board", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 16-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. ...

, as the Reds lost in five games. The lone Reds win occurred in Game 2, a 6-2 victory as Jay threw a complete-game four-hitter at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

, being Jay's single-game career highlight. On May 1, 1962, at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 to 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the ...

, off

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

pitcher Sherman Jones, Jay hit a three-run home run (base runners were Wally Post and Leo Cárdenas), in the sixth inning, for his first MLB home run. At

Crosley Field Crosley Field was a Major League Baseball park in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second (1937) a ...

, on May 28, 1962, Jay hit his only other career home run, off Houston Colt .45s pitcher Bobby Tiefenauer, in the fifth inning, a two-run blast (

Don Zimmer Donald William Zimmer (January 17, 1931 – June 4, 2014) was an American infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Zimmer was involved in professional baseball from 1949 until his death, a span of 65 years, across 8 d ...

was on base). Jay also won 21 games in 1962 as the Reds won 98 games to finish in third place behind the Giants and Dodgers. Jay's heavy workload in 1961 and 1962 took a toll the following year, as he struggled to a 7–18 record. Jay posted a mark of 11-11 mark in 1964, as the Reds finished a single game behind the eventual

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

champion

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. Jay would finish his career by returning to the Braves for their initial season in Atlanta in 1966.

Post-baseball career

Jay resided in Florida after retiring from baseball and pursued a business career. An exploration and drilling company in which he was a partner expanded to own several oil fields in West Virginia. In addition, Jay owned or had ownership stakes in taxicab companies, limousine fleets, a carpet-cleaning company and building maintenance firms.

Personal life and death

In October 1954, Jay married Lois Elizabeth Bruggen in Middletown, Connecticut. They were the parents of five children. Jay died in

Lutz, Florida Lutz is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough County and Pasco County, Florida, Pasco County, Florida, United States, north of Tampa. While there is a Census-designated plac ...

on September 27, 2024, at the age of 89.

References

External links