What years did Johnny Ray play?

Johnny Ray played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1990.

Was Johnny Ray a pitcher?

No. Johnny Ray was a position player (Second Baseman).

How many home runs did Johnny Ray hit?

Johnny Ray hit 53 career home runs with 1502 hits.

What was Johnny Ray's career batting average?

Johnny Ray batted .290 over his career, with 1,502 hits in 5,188 at bats.

How many RBI did Johnny Ray have?

Johnny Ray drove in 594 runs in his career.

Is Johnny Ray in the Hall of Fame?

No. Johnny Ray has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Johnny Ray

Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1981-1990)

Johnny Ray was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1990 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the California Angels, a span of 10 seasons. In 1,353 career games, he hit .290 with 1,502 hits, 53 home runs, and 594 RBI. Johnny Ray was an All-Star and a Silver Slugger. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,408.

AVG (Batting Average):: Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):: Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):: Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):: On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated October 12, 2026

AVG .290

HR 53

RBI 594

H 1,502

OPS .724

PIV 1,408

Position: Second Baseman
Bats / Throws: B / R
Height / Weight: 5'11" / 170 lb
Born: 3/1/1957 in Chouteau, OK, USA
MLB Debut: 1981-09-02
Last Game: 1990-09-30
Awards: All-Star · Silver Slugger

Full name: John Cornelius Ray

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Johnny Ray — Batting
PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
742.0	637.0	111.0	161.0	12.0	6.0	3.0	30.0	85.0	5.0	9.0	.253	.350	.305	.655

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Johnny Ray — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS
1937	72.0	60.0	15.0	26.0	0	2.0	0	6.0	9.0	0	3.0	.433	.521	.500	1.021
1938	14.0	12.0	1.0	2.0	0	0	0	1.0	2.0	0	0	.167	.286	.167	.453
1939	118.0	102.0	22.0	23.0	4.0	1.0	0	4.0	14.0	4.0	3.0	.225	.331	.284	.615
1940	110.0	87.0	20.0	23.0	0	0	0	2.0	21.0	0	1.0	.264	.423	.264	.687
1941	38.0	31.0	5.0	6.0	0	0	0	2.0	6.0	0	0	.194	.324	.194	.518
1942	25.0	23.0	3.0	4.0	0	0	0	0	2.0	0	0	.174	.240	.174	.414
1943	137.0	120.0	19.0	26.0	0	1.0	1.0	2.0	10.0	0	2.0	.217	.282	.258	.540
1944	139.0	123.0	17.0	28.0	4.0	0	0	7.0	13.0	1.0	0	.228	.312	.260	.572
1945	89.0	79.0	9.0	23.0	4.0	2.0	2.0	6.0	8.0	0	0	.291	.356	.468	.824
Listed seasons · 9	742	637	111	161	12	6	3	30	85	5	9	.253	—	—	—

Career Batting Statistics

Johnny Ray — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
1,353	5,188	604	1,502	294	36	53	594	80	353	329	.290	.333	.391	.724	1,408

Career AVG .290 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — +12.1% above league average.

Career OBP .333 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .391 vs. league average .388 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .724 vs. league average .711 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Johnny Ray (b. 1957) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1981	PIT	NL	31	102	10	25	11	0	0	6	0	6	9	.245	.255 (-4%)	.320 (-11%)	.368 (-4%)	.688 (-7%)	-148.1
1982	PIT	NL	162	647	79	182	30	7	7	63	16	36	34	.281	.261 (+8%)	.324 (-2%)	.388 (-2%)	.712 (-2%)	-278.6
1983	PIT	NL	151	576	68	163	38	7	5	53	18	35	26	.283	.260 (+8%)	.324 (-1%)	.389 (+3%)	.714 (+1%)	8.4
1984	PIT	NL	155	555	75	173	38	6	6	67	11	37	31	.312	.259 (+20%)	.322 (+10%)	.384 (+13%)	.707 (+11%)	1180.8
1985	PIT	NL	154	594	67	163	33	3	7	70	13	46	24	.274	.257 (+7%)	.323 (avg)	.390 (-4%)	.714 (-2%)	-217.9
1986	PIT	NL	155	579	67	174	33	0	7	78	6	58	47	.301	.257 (+17%)	.325 (+11%)	.395 (avg)	.720 (+5%)	713.1
1987	PIT	NL	123	472	48	129	19	3	5	54	4	41	36	.273	.262 (+4%)	.331 (-1%)	.415 (-14%)	.746 (-8%)	-606.4
1987	CAL	AL	30	127	16	44	11	0	0	15	0	3	10	.346	.262 (+32%)	.331 (+8%)	.415 (+4%)	.746 (+6%)	-606.4
1988	CAL	AL	153	602	75	184	42	7	6	83	4	36	38	.306	.254 (+20%)	.317 (+8%)	.377 (+13%)	.695 (+11%)	1160.9
1989	CAL	AL	134	530	52	153	16	3	5	62	6	36	30	.289	.254 (+14%)	.319 (+2%)	.375 (-4%)	.694 (-1%)	-168.8
1990	CAL	AL	105	404	47	112	23	0	5	43	2	19	44	.277	.257 (+8%)	.324 (-5%)	.385 (-4%)	.710 (-4%)	-343.7
Career · 11 seasons			1,353	5,188	604	1,502	294	36	53	594	80	353	329	.290	—	—	—	—	693

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1353 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Johnny Ray — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	679	2518	305	718	34	295	.285
Away	674	2670	299	784	19	299	.294

Last 10 Games — Batting

Johnny Ray — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB	SO
1990-09-30	LAA	KCR	L	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1990-09-29	LAA	KCR	L	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1990-09-28	LAA	KCR	L	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
1990-09-27	LAA	KCR	W	4	1	1	0	1	3	0	0
1990-09-26	LAA	TEX	L	4	0	2	0	0	1	1	0
1990-09-23	LAA	KCR	L	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1
1990-09-22	LAA	KCR	L	5	1	1	0	0	0	0	1
1990-09-21	LAA	KCR	W	4	2	3	2	0	2	0	0
1990-09-19	LAA	DET	L	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1990-09-18	LAA	DET	L	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Johnny Ray — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
2B	1277	1219	2682	3836	118	828
OF	40	41	75	0	5	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Johnny Ray — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1981	PIT	2B	31	25	52	96	2	22
1982	PIT	2B	162	162	381	512	21	89
1983	PIT	2B	151	138	319	452	13	102
1984	PIT	2B	149	134	331	400	12	90
1985	PIT	2B	151	145	305	423	18	89
1986	PIT	2B	151	144	280	479	5	89
1987	PIT	2B	119	115	248	358	12	84
1987	CAL	2B	29	29	52	90	2	19
1988	CAL	2B	104	102	194	328	15	64
1988	CAL	OF	40	41	75	0	5	0
1989	CAL	2B	130	130	279	403	11	98
1990	CAL	2B	100	95	241	295	7	82

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Johnny Ray (b. 1957) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Second Base	1277
Left Field	40
Designated Hitter	8

Awards & Honors

Johnny Ray — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1988	Player of the Week	Week of 1988-04-22
1988	TSN All-Star	2B
1986	Player of the Month	April
1986	Player of the Week	Week of 1986-04-11
1985	Player of the Week	Week of 1985-10-04
1984	Player of the Week	Week of 1984-08-10
1984	Player of the Week	Week of 1984-09-21
1983	Silver Slugger	2B
1982	TSN Rookie Player of the Year

Salary History

Johnny Ray — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1990	CAL	AL	$1,125,000
1989	CAL	AL	$850,000
1988	CAL	AL	$732,000
1987	PIT	NL	$807,000
1986	PIT	NL	$757,000
1985	PIT	NL	$632,000
Total Career Earnings			$4,903,000

College History

Johnny Ray — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
University of Arkansas	Fayetteville	AR	1978, 1979

Award Voting History

Johnny Ray — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max	Votes First
1982	Rookie of the Year	NL	2nd	57.0	120	6

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Johnny Ray (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Johnny Ray: the record in brief

The profile opens with Johnny Ray's first major league game on September 2, 1981; the last one listed came on September 30, 1990. The season rows list, in order, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1981 to 1987) and the California Angels (1987 through 1990). At 5 feet, 11 inches and 170 pounds, Ray is listed as a second baseman. Ray batted from both sides and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is March 1, 1957, in Chouteau, OK, USA. On the record, Johnny Ray was born John Cornelius Ray.

Ray's career batting table shows 1,353 games, 5,188 at bats and 1,502 hits, a .290 average; the totals also include 53 homers, 594 RBI, and 80 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .333 clip and slugging .391, Ray finished with a .724 OPS. Set against a .258 league average for the same years, Ray's .290 average sits 12.1% above it. No season topped the 184 hits of 1988. 1988 brought the most runs batted in, 83.

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Ray

What years did Johnny Ray play?: Johnny Ray played in Major League Baseball from 1981 to 1990.
Was Johnny Ray a pitcher?: No. Johnny Ray was a position player (Second Baseman).
How many home runs did Johnny Ray hit?: Johnny Ray hit 53 career home runs with 1502 hits.
What was Johnny Ray's career batting average?: Johnny Ray batted .290 over his career, with 1,502 hits in 5,188 at bats.
How many RBI did Johnny Ray have?: Johnny Ray drove in 594 runs in his career.
Is Johnny Ray in the Hall of Fame?: No. Johnny Ray has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.