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James Francis Ray
Houston Astros
Pitcher
Born: December 1, 1944, Rock Hill, SC
Signed: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1963 season
Major League Teams: Houston Astros 1965-1966, 1968-1973; Detroit Tigers 1974
Died: May 26, 2005, Margate, FL (age 60)
Jim Ray was a long-time and steady reliever for the Astros in parts of eight seasons from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. He appeared in four games with the Astros in 1965 and 1966 as a September call-up, then spent all of 1967 in the minors. Ray came up for good in 1968, and pitched in at least 40 games each season between 1968 and 1973. He was quietly one of the best relievers in the National League in 1970 and 1971, pitching to a 3.26 ERA and a 2.12 ERA in those two seasons, respectively. Ray was never the steady closer for the Astros, but he did notch 25 career saves over his career. His last action in the majors came in 1974 with the Tigers, and he pitched briefly in the minor leagues in 1975 and 1976 before retiring.
For his career, Ray was 43-30 with a 3.61 ERA in 308 games pitched. He struck out 407 over 618 innings.
Jim Ray was a long-time and steady reliever for the Astros in parts of eight seasons from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. He appeared in four games with the Astros in 1965 and 1966 as a September call-up, then spent all of 1967 in the minors. Ray came up for good in 1968, and pitched in at least 40 games each season between 1968 and 1973. He was quietly one of the best relievers in the National League in 1970 and 1971, pitching to a 3.26 ERA and a 2.12 ERA in those two seasons, respectively. Ray was never the steady closer for the Astros, but he did notch 25 career saves over his career. His last action in the majors came in 1974 with the Tigers, and he pitched briefly in the minor leagues in 1975 and 1976 before retiring.
For his career, Ray was 43-30 with a 3.61 ERA in 308 games pitched. He struck out 407 over 618 innings.
March 12, 2023 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
In mid-March last year, over a year ago at this point, Doug and I attended the Philadelphia Sports Collectors Show, held within the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. My main focus for this show was accumulating as many 1969 Topps commons as possible, which I did by adding a grand total of 193 cards to our set. That's almost 30% of the entire set added in one enjoyable afternoon. I wrote a full summary of the show in a post over at The Phillies Room, found here.
This is the 167th of the 193 commons and semi-stars purchased, pulled and stacked from the first two neon green binders housing 1969 Topps cards at the multi-table spread of Uncle Dick's Cards from Babylon, New York. My method was simple - I pulled up a chair, found a card I needed, picked the best of the group from the binder page and set it aside. After each 100 cards, I'd ask the dealer to tell me how much damage I had done so far. With a budget in mind, I kept going twice, continuing after card #100 and card #200, and stopping at card #298. The final amount due was 17% off the sticker price for the pile of 193 cards, with this card costing me $1.25.
The Card / Astros Team Set / Accuracy Index +2
Ray appeared on a multi-player Rookie Stars card with Mike Ferraro (#83) in the 1968 Topps set, and this is his first solo card. Flipping to the back, Ray did in fact lead the Astros' pitching staff in the ERA category in 1968 as pointed out by the cartoon, and his 81 innings pitched just qualified him for the mark. Starting pitcher Mike Cuellar (#453), with 170 innings pitched, had an ERA of 2.74.
Accuracy Index: Ray is wearing the correct uniform (+5), but since Topps wasn't yet allowed to use the Astros logo, the front panel of his hat is blacked out (-3).
1969 Season
Ray pitched in 40 games for the Astros, making 13 starts, and was 8-2 with a 3.91 ERA. In 115 innings pitched, a career high, Ray struck out 115, also a career high, and walked 48.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #539
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1968-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1975 Topps #89
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 42 in the Beckett online database as of 2/15/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
Ray pitched in 40 games for the Astros, making 13 starts, and was 8-2 with a 3.91 ERA. In 115 innings pitched, a career high, Ray struck out 115, also a career high, and walked 48.
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First Mainstream Card: 1968 Topps #539
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8): 1968-1975
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1975 Topps #89
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 42 in the Beckett online database as of 2/15/24.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
#256 Gates Brown - Detroit Tigers / #258 Jackie Hernandez - Kansas City Royals
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