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Thursday, May 29, 2003

By Rich Emert

In the early and mid-1980s, the Pirates had one of the best second basemen in the game in Johnny Ray.

Acquired from Houston along with pitcher Randy Niemann and outfielder Kevin Houston for Phil Garner, Ray was not only a slick fielder but also a solid hitter. In his rookie season of 1982, he played in all 162 games for the Pirates, hit .281 and was The Sporting News National League Rookie of the Year.

In '86, he committed just five errors in 151 games and hit .301, but he had perhaps his best season in '84, hitting .312 with 67 RBIs and 75 runs scored. Ray played his final four seasons with the Angels and, in '88, became the first switch-hitter in club history to hit over .300, finishing with a .306 average. His 10-year major-league batting average is .290 with 1,502 hits. Ray attended the University of Arkansas and was All-Southwest Conference two consecutive years, helping the Razorbacks to a second-place finish in the College World Series in '79.

Ray, 46, is retired and living in Chouteau, Okla., with his wife, Tammy, son Johnny Jr., a high school senior, and daughter Jasmine, who is in eighth grade.

Q: Where did you go after you left the Pirates?

A: I went to the Angels for 4 1/2 years and then I spent a year and a half playing in Japan.

Q: What was it like playing in Japan?

A: It was an experience. My family loved it over there, but playing baseball there was different. But the offer they made me was too good to pass up.

Q: Was playing there like in the movie 'Mr. Baseball?'

A: It was something like that. Actually, they were making that movie there when I was there, and we got a chance to meet some of the people in it.

Q: Did you think about getting into coaching once you quit playing?

A: I had some opportunities to do that but was never really interested. That's a case where it's not how much you know, but who you know. Besides, I wanted to spend time with my family. When you're playing you're away from your family more than people realized. Children grow up fast enough, and I didn't want to miss any more of that. Besides, the travel gets old after a while.

Q: What's your best memory of playing for the Pirates?

A: I don't know that I have just one. I came over just at the end after they had won the Series in 1979. We did OK for a couple of years and then a lot of those guys left. But I enjoyed playing in Pittsburgh. I can remember walking in the trainer's room and seeing Pops [Willie Stargell] and Bill Robinson lying on the tables because they were stiff and sore. I'd make fun of them, and Pops would say, 'Son, just keep livin' and you'll know what this is like.' Now, I'm finding out what he meant.

Q: Who was the Pirates' manager then?

A: I played for Chuck Tanner and then Jim Leyland came along. Playing for Chuck was great. If you can't play for him, you can't play. He was always so positive with the players. You wanted to go out and play hard because of the way he was.

Q: Is there one game you had with the Pirates that sticks out in your memory?

A: No, not really. I just tried to be consistent. I did hit two home runs [against San Diego] in one game. That's about the only thing.

Q: Was there a pitcher who used to give you trouble?

A: All of them. Actually, the guys who gave the whole team trouble were the off-speed pitchers who threw a lot of curves and changeups. We were a pretty aggressive hitting team and did well against the guys who threw hard.

Q: Was there one pitcher you always hit well?

A: Kevin Gross of the Phillies. It didn't matter what he threw me, I always did well against him.

Q: You played in the College World Series championship. What was that like?

A: It was a thrill and we had a great team at Arkansas at the time. We had four or five guys from that team make it to the major leagues -- myself and Kevin McReynolds and Tim Lollar and Ronn Reynolds. There was a lot of hoopla about the series, and CBS even broadcast the championship game, which was a big thing. Now, you can turn on the TV and see a bunch of the college games.

Q: The amateur draft is coming up soon. Where you a high draft pick?

A: No. Houston took me in the 10th round and just said, 'Son, do you want to play baseball?' It was tough going to the minors that first year. At Arkansas, we were used to flying everywhere, and then I'm in the minors and taking those long bus rides and wearing hand-me-down uniforms. I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible.

Q: Where you in the minors very long?

A: Only about a year and a half or two years. I worked hard to get out of there because I didn't want to get labeled as a minor-league player. Once that happens, you're stuck down there.

Q: Do you have a favorite baseball movie?

A: I like watching 'Bull Durham' because it was funny and because a lot of the things that it showed actually happen in the minors.

Q: Ever think about how much money, with the skills you had, you could make if you were playing today?

A: I came along 10 or 11 years too early. Today, you have .230 hitters who are making $2 million. When I was playing, guys like Ryne Sandberg were only getting a million a year. Think what they'd be making. I'm a former player and I believe in guys getting what they can, but when they are paying $25 million for one guy ... it's crazy.

(Have an idea for a Where are they Now? E-mail it to emert196@attbi.com)