Raymond Leonard Culp (born August 6, 1941) 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

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 ...

(–),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

(), and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

(–).

MLB career

Ray was born in

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario ...

, Texas. He attended

Stephen F. Austin High School (Austin, Texas) Stephen F. Austin High School, more commonly known as Austin High, is a public high school in Austin, Texas, United States, and part of the Austin Independent School District (AISD). Founded in 1881, it is one of the oldest public high schools ...

and signed as an undrafted free agent with the

when he was 17. His first year was an impressive one, as he compiled a 14–11 win–loss record for the Phillies and was eighth in the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

(NL) in strikeouts, although his control was somewhat shaky … leading the league in walks with 102. As a rookie, he made the NL All-Star squad and went on to retire

Al Kaline Albert William Kaline ( ; December 19, 1934 – April 6, 2020), nicknamed "Mr. Tiger", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers. For most of his career, Kali ...

, Frank Malzone, and

Carl Yastrzemski Carl Michael Yastrzemski ( ; nicknamed "Yaz"; born August 22, 1939) is an American former Major League Baseball player. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year Major League career with the Bost ...

(around a Leon Wagner single), in a scoreless fifth inning of the Senior Circuit’s 5–3 victory. Culp returned to the All-Star game in 1969, pitching a perfect ninth inning for the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

(AL). He retired

Pete Rose Peter Edward Rose Sr. (born April 14, 1941), also known by his nickname "Charlie Hustle", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. Rose played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1963 to 1986, most prominently as a membe ...

(on a foul pop fly) and struck out Randy Hundley and

Tony Pérez Atanasio "Tony" Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and third baseman from through , most notably as a member of the ...

. He strung together four steady seasons for the Red Sox from –, winning between 14 and 17 games in each. None of his teams during Culp's career appeared in a postseason game. In 11 seasons he had a 122–101 win–loss record, 322 games, 268 games started, 80 complete games, 22 shutouts, 21 games finished, 1 save, 1,898 innings pitched, 1,677 hits allowed, 863 runs allowed, 755 earned runs allowed, 188 home runs allowed, 752 walks allowed, 1,411 strikeouts, 70 hit batsmen, 73 wild pitches, 8,066 batters faced, 58 intentional walks, 3 balks, and a 3.58 ERA.

Accomplishments and statistics

*Selected by

The Sporting News The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...

as National League Rookie Pitcher of the Year, 1963 *Named to the 1963 National League All-Star Team and the 1969 American League All-Star Team *Led the National League in hit batsmen (12, 1965) the American League (11, 1970) *Led the National League in walks allowed (102) (1963) *Ranks 99th on the MLB career hits allowed per nine innings pitched list (7.95) *Ranks 95th on the MLB career strikeouts per nine innings pitched list (6.69)

References

External links

Ray Culp
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Ray Culp
at Baseball Almanac
Ray Culp
at Baseball Biography 1941 births Living people Philadelphia Phillies players Chicago Cubs players Boston Red Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Texas National League All-Stars Johnson City Phillies players Des Moines Demons players Asheville Tourists players Williamsport Grays players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Elgin, Texas {{US-baseball-pitcher-1940s-stub