Kenneth Alan Ray (born November 27, 1974) is an American former professional baseball

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 ...

who played for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

. Ray made his MLB debut on July 10, , for the Royals.

Early career

After briefly pitching for the Royals in 1999, Ray spent years battling arm problems while trying to work his way back onto a major league roster.

Back in the majors

He made a meteoric rise from to . In 2005, Ray started the season with the independent

North Shore Spirit The North Shore Spirit was a minor-league baseball team based in Lynn, Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007. The Spirit played in the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball (the "Can-Am League," also known as the Northeast League), an I ...

of the Can-Am League before being acquired by the

organization. He spent the remainder of the season with the Triple-A

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

. On April 6, , following an injury to starter Horacio Ramírez, Ray was called up from the Richmond Braves, Atlanta's Triple-A affiliate. In his first appearance for Atlanta in 2006, he struck out

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

on 3 pitches. He was claimed off waivers by the Royals in the 2006 offseason. Ray began the season in Triple-A with the

Omaha Royals Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

. He was released on August 18, 2007. On August 30, he was signed by the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry, ...

. Ray began pitching for the Triple-A Potros de Tijuana of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

where he held a 6-3 record and a 3.65

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

. Ray signed with the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. ...

of the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and K ...

where he finished 2008. On May 27, 2009, Ray was signed by the Cleveland Indians, and assigned to their AAA affiliate Columbus Clippers. By March, 2010, Ray was pitching for the

La New Bears LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

in the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 2 ...

. In 2010 his ERA of 2.32 helped earn him a renewal, and Ray continued to play for the La New Bears (now the Lamigo Monkeys) through 2012 and again in 2014. In 2013 he played in Mexico and then for

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...

Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

, for whom he played again in 2015 and 2016. In 2017 at the age of 42, Ray pitched for the Lamigo Monkeys' minor league team.

References

External links

Ken Ray
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)
Career statistics and player information
from

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Ken 1974 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American expatriate baseball players in South Korea American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Atlanta Bravos de Margarita players Columbus Clippers players KBO League pitchers Fresno Grizzlies players Gulf Coast Royals players High Desert Mavericks players Huntsville Stars players Kansas City Royals players La New Bears players Lamigo Monkeys players Leones de Yucatán players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers North Shore Spirit players Omaha Golden Spikes players Omaha Royals players People from Roswell, Georgia Potros de Tijuana players Richmond Braves players Rockford Royals players SSG Landers players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Wichita Wranglers players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Winston-Salem Warthogs players Yuba-Sutter Gold Sox players