On Thursday, the Texas Rangers purchased Peyton Gray’s contract from Triple-A Round Rock, calling him up to the big leagues.
One of the highlights of Texas Rangers Spring Training was 30-year-old non-roster invitee Peyton Gray.
In 10 2/3 innings with Texas this spring, Gray struck out an astonishing 18 batters while walking just one.
That success carried over to Triple-A Round Rock, where Gray began the season pitching 12 2/3 scoreless innings with 15 strikeouts.
On Thursday afternoon, all those strong outings yielded a result that Gray had been waiting for a very long time.
The Rangers purchased Gray’s contract from Round Rock and called him up to the big leagues as a corresponding move after Robert Garcia was placed on the 15-day IL with left shoulder inflammation.
Gray’s journey to the big leagues stretches far beyond the success he has had in his short time with the Rangers organization.
After going undrafted following his college career at Florida Gulf Coast, Gray bounced around, being released three times, pitching in multiple countries, and on the independent ball circuit.
Finally, after waiting years and eight innings of the Rangers' eventual 6-1 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Thursday night, it was Gray’s turn to pitch as Rangers manager Skip Schumaker called on him to pitch the ninth inning and seal the victory.
“When it was finally my turn, it was awesome. I wasn’t nervous, I was more excited, prepared,” Gray said.
It’s safe to say Gray looked pretty prepared, throwing a perfect inning in his first appearance on a Major League mound.
With two outs in the inning, Gray struck out Pirates shortstop and top MLB prospect 19-year-old Konnor Griffin on a changeup below the zone.
"It makes me feel pretty old," Gray said. "He just signed an awesome extension, so he's obviously a pretty good player, so getting my first career strikeout on him is pretty neat."
As for Schumaker, it wasn’t hard to see the beauty of the game of baseball in that moment in which Gray will remember forever.
"I love this game so much because of stories like that," Schumaker said. "You saw this kid that just came out of high school not too long ago and then another guy who's spent, in the minor leagues so to speak, 10-plus years trying to get his moment ... for him to get a strikeout against a future All-Star over there, that's what the beautiful part of this game is, you don't see this in every sport. That just doesn't happen."
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