Dick Gray was born on Saturday, July 11, 1931, in Jefferson, Pennsylvania. Gray was 26 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 15, 1958, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Dick Gray baseball stats page.
"I was the first of about 36 third basemen who played for the Dodgers until Ron Cey took hold of the third base position for a decade starting in 1973. I hit the first home run in LA Dodgers history and that was my 15 minutes of fame. I had forgotten about the home run at Seals Stadium, but the one at the Coliseum was off of Johnny Antonelli to put the Dodgers ahead 6-3. It was in the seventh inning and the count was 3-0 and he was just trying to throw a strike and I nailed it. The Dodgers held on to win 6-5. The Coliseum wasn't a baseball field and a lot of guys just couldn't get adjusted to that football field. Left field was only about 280 feet, but then you had an eighty foot fence and then in right center ... poor Duke Snider, he used to hit balls 450 feet and it was an out. - Dick Gray in The Greene County Messenger (04/22/2011, George Von Benko, 'Jefferson's Gray a forgotten baseball gem', Source)
Dick GrayDick Gray Autograph on a 1959 Topps Baseball Card (#244 | Checklist) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
Dick GrayDick Gray Pitching Stats |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
Dick GrayDick Gray Hitting Stats |
|||||||||||||||||||||
Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1958 | 27 | Dodgers | 58 | 197 | 25 | 49 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 30 | 19 | 0 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | .249 | .327 | .472 |
1959 | 28 | Dodgers | 21 | 52 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .154 | .241 | .288 |
1959 | 28 | Cardinals | 36 | 51 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .314 | .386 | .392 |
1960 | 29 | Cardinals | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .250 | .000 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
3 Years | 124 | 305 | 43 | 73 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 41 | 33 | 1 | 52 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 8 | .239 | .321 | .420 |
Dick GrayDick Gray Fielding Stats |
||||||||||||||||
Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1958 Dodgers | 3B | 55 | 53 | 1,416 | 210 | 3.8 | 195 | 56 | 139 | 15 | 18 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .929 | 3.72 |
1959 Dodgers | 3B | 11 | 11 | 294 | 24 | 2.2 | 24 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.20 |
1959 Cardinals | 2B | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.00 |
1959 Cardinals | 3B | 6 | 1 | 81 | 7 | 1.2 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .714 | 1.67 |
1959 Cardinals | LF | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1959 Cardinals | SS | 13 | 6 | 168 | 24 | 1.8 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 3.70 |
1960 Cardinals | 2B | 4 | 0 | 27 | 6 | 1.5 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 6.00 |
1960 Cardinals | 3B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 9.00 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
3B Totals | 73 | 65 | 1,794 | 242 | 3.3 | 225 | 61 | 164 | 17 | 20 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .930 | 3.39 | |
SS Totals | 13 | 6 | 168 | 24 | 1.8 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .958 | 3.70 | |
2B Totals | 6 | 0 | 36 | 7 | 1.2 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 5.25 | |
LF Totals | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 | |
3 Years | 93 | 71 | 2,001 | 273 | 2.9 | 255 | 74 | 181 | 18 | 25 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .934 | 3.44 |
Dick GrayDick Gray Miscellaneous Stats |
||||||||||||
Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1958 Dodgers | 1 | 1 | .500 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 21.9 | 6.6 | 6.6 | - | - | - |
1959 Dodgers | 0 | 0 | .000 | 9 | 1 | n/a | 26.0 | 4.3 | 13.0 | - | - | - |
1959 Cardinals | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 19 | 1 | n/a | 51.0 | 6.4 | 8.5 | - | - | - |
1960 Cardinals | 0 | 0 | .000 | 4 | 2 | n/a | 0.0 | 2.5 | 5.0 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
3 Years | 4 | 1 | .800 | 36 | 4 | n/a | 25.4 | 5.9 | 7.4 | - | - | - |
Dick GrayDick Gray Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
||||
Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1958 Los Angeles Dodgers | 11 | $4,000.00 | - | - |
1959 Los Angeles Dodgers | 11 | $4,200.00 | - | - |
1959 St. Louis Cardinals | 27 | " " | - | - |
1960 St. Louis Cardinals | 27 | $4,500.00 | - | - |
Dick Gray Stats by Baseball Almanac |
Did you know that Dick Gray was the first player to hit a home run in Los Angeles Dodgers history? On April 16, 1958, the recently relocated Brooklyn Dodgers, now playing on the west coast as the Los Angeles Dodgers, crushed the San Francisco Giants, 13-1. In the second inning of that game, Dick Gray belted a two-run home run off Ramon Monzant, the first regular season home run by a Dodgers wearing a uniform from Los Angeles.
Did you know that two days later, on April 18, 1958, the Dodgers played their first home game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and in that game, Gray became the first Dodgers player to hit a regular season home run in the city of Los Angeles? In the bottom of the seventh inning, Dick Gray crushed a bases-empty home run off Johnny Antonelli, the first regular season home run by a Dodgers wearing a uniform from Los Angeles in a home game. "It was in the seventh inning and the count was 3-0 and he was just trying to throw a strike and I nailed it", Gray said.
Dick Gray | Los Angeles Dodgers First Home Run | Independent | April 19, 1958 | Page B-1
Dick Gray played baseball, football and wrestled at Jefferson High School. When he graduated, he attended a baseball tryout at Dodgertown in Vero Beach, Florida during the 1949 Spring Training. The Brooklyn Dodgers immediately signed him as an amateur free agent and Gray played for them in their minor league system from 1950 to 1952. Two years in the military (Korean War) and three more years in the minors, Gray made it to the show and on April 16, 1958 (away game, Seals Stadium), Gray was the first LOS ANGELES Dodger to wear #11.
Dick Gray | Los Angeles Dodgers #11 | Press Photo | Photoshop by Baseball Almanac
Have you ever wondered if a former player, after their Major League career, had any regrets? In an article (link) Gray commented, "I think the only regret I have is I wasn't more intense playing the game of baseball. I never did realize it was a business until I got out of it. I was always kind of a nice guy, but what I should have done was just pay more attention and get a lot better, because I was a better ballplayer than what the stats show."