I feel like every time I feature a new player on this blog I'm going on and on about how they were one of my favorite players as a kid. Maybe they're all my favorites? Johnny Ray is another one I have lots of love for.
I played second base for most of my little league career. I was the scrappy kid who couldn't hit worth a lick but caught most everything hit at him. I dreamed of being a Johnny Ray type player - good contact, not a ton of power but dependable with the stick.
Pittsburgh got a good game out of Ray today. Trouble started brewing for Chicago in the first. Lee Lacy hit a two-out triple and Jason Thompson brought him home with a RBI single. The Cubs answered back in the bottom of the first with two runs of their own. Ray tied things up in the third with a solo homer and Bill Madlock added another bomb in the fourth to give the Pirates the lead.
Chicago got the lead back in the fourth when pitcher Rich Bordi had an RBI single to score Ron Cey (Bordi had zero RBI's in the real 1984) and Pirates pitcher Larry McWilliams walked Gary Matthews with the bases loaded. He struck out Leon Durham to get out of the jam, one of his ten K's on the day. Ray tied things up in the fifth with an RBI hit and a third solo homer from Pittsburgh, this time by Doug Frobel, gave the Pirates the lead for good.
Winning Pitcher - Larry McWilliams
Losing Pitcher - Rich Bordi
Save - Kent Tekulve
Player of the Game - Johnny Ray, 3-5, HR, 2RBI's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg
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