Ray King (2018 update: Not dead, but retired from MLB)

[Oldcity]

He may not be that good, but can we at least stop calling him old? He'll be 33, which isn't old for a reliever- especially a LOOGY.

[colbyjack]

It sounds as though people don't expect Ray King to bounce back from his poor season. As noted, he's not old, not for a relief pitcher, much less a lefty relief pitcher. As for his size, he's been this big for a while, so I can't believe he's just getting too big for his age to suffer a sudden drop in production.

 

That said, I don't know if I would pay him $2M to play here, unless the team feels they need to overpay him a little to get him to come back to Milwaukee. They paid Dan Kolb $2M last year hoping he would bounce back. Of course, that didn't work out the greatest, but at least King has a better history of productive seasons before this year.

[aracko]

I think its only fair that we mention that his offyear came in Colorado. His stats away from Coors Field were quite different. humidor or not, the ball doesnt do what it is supposed to do there.

 

I would love to have him on board.

[Katuluu]

Doing some quick calculations this is what I came up with regarding pitchers ages.

 

Total pitchers used in 2006 = 635

lefties = 168

righties = 467

 

lefties 30 years or older = 61 = 36% of lefties

>31 = 51 = 30%

>32 = 42 = 25%

>33 = 37 = 22%

>34 = 32 = 19%

>35 = 26 = 15%

>36 = 22 = 13%

>37 = 14 = 8%

>38 = 13 = 7%

 

righties >30 = 155 = 33% of righties

>31 = 177 = 27%

>32 = 144 = 22%

>33 = 122 = 18%

>34 = 94 = 13%

>35 = 71 = 10%

>36 = 59 = 8%

>37 = 41 = 6%

>38 = 31 = 4%

 

 

So going off of the numbers used, pitchers thirty years and older represent about 1/3 of all pitchers. By 32 years of age, pitchers represent about 1/4 of all pitchers. That's a fairly dramatic drop in only two years. Not only that, it does show that King is old, as within two years the number of pitchers still in the league drops down to around 15%. He is clearly in the age range of when players leave the league due to age/productivity.

 

Another thing, nothing shows any ability for a large amount of lefthanded pitchers careers to last significantly longer then righthanded pitchers. It does show they seem to stick around about one year longer, but I'dont think that is advantage enough to claim that a 32 year old pitcher is not old. Just by simple averages he (King) would last about 2 more years.

 

So it seems to me that not only is King old for a pitcher, he is old for a left-handed pitcher.

 

So I again wonder why we would put any time or money into a player like King when we already have several potential in-house candidates, let alone their are players like this sitting around the waiver wire every spring who can be had for nothing.

[thumperden]

I don't think my eyes were deceiving me when I saw the K-train on the mound this year over years past. His gut is unquestionably larger in 2006 than it was when he was with the Brewers.

 

There was an off-season, if I recall correctly, where he did lose some weight while in Milwaukee. I am positive he's more rotund now than he was pitching for the Brewers.

 

I'd be willing to bet that some folks here have pictures of him in Milwaukee and somewhere, someone could find a picture of him with St. Louis. I'd like to do a before/after comparison.

[PeaveyFury]

What a waste of typing.

 

Not appropriate, Al.

[SoCalBrewfan]

Sigh...I remember the good old days when Ray King was a uniter, not a divider.

 

Too bad that a guy named Ray King wasn't a hitter, though...rayking is what the hitters did when ol' Burger was pitching this year.

[IntentionalHBP]

With the recent injury of Boone Logan I believe King would fit the LOOGY role the Brewers need.

[adambr2]

With the recent injury of Boone Logan I believe King would fit the LOOGY role the Brewers need.

 

I'm assuming this has to be a joke/sarcasm/tongue in cheek/whatever we are calling it these days, but man it is getting harder to pick up on nowadays.

[DR28]

Why are these old threads being resurfaced? This is the 3rd one now.

[Jaylyn]

Good memories, seeing Patrick Stewart with a smoke and those glasses always brought a smile. That and the one, I swear it was Will Ferrell, going Super Sayian.

[adambr2]

The sad thing is when I saw this bumped I thought "Ray King. Is he still around? Seems unlikely but maybe he is."

 

Then I looked him up and realized he hasn't pitched in a decade. They told me time would fly the older I got, but I never realized how much.

[Jaylyn]

I hear ya, 50 got here quick!

[pogokat]

Believe it or not, but Rfay King is only 32

 

Believe it or not, but Rfay King is only 44

[homer]

Not kidding when I say I thought he was dead.

[adambr2]

Not kidding when I say I thought he was dead.

 

Nope, but Jose Capellan unfortunately is, who was previously mentioned in this thread.

[BuckyBrewer61]

My only recollection of Ray King was watching from the stands against the Expos as he threw a wild pitch allowing a run to score...during an intentional walk. When the automatic intentional walk rule was announced, I immediately thought of Ray King.

[chewy522]

Clicking on this thread reminds me how gullible I can be too. With some talk about comebacks from older athletes, I was like ..why not Ray King. It also shows how much i cant wait for opening day. Well played for reposting.

[owbc]

RIP Ray King and Wade Boggs.

[RayKingsForemanGrill]

Did someone say Ray King?

[CheezButt]

This topic could disappear any day now

[Ulice Payne]

I always liked Ray King a little more because he lived in Milwaukee over the winter. That's dedication.

[hawing]

Not kidding when I say I thought he was dead.

I'm going to admit I thought this would be a RIP type post too, except that wouldn't really belong in Transaction Rumors.

[DocLuna7]

So have we indeed confirmed that Ray King is still alive?

[And That]

I'm going to admit I thought this would be a RIP type post too, except that wouldn't really belong in Transaction Rumors.

It's the ultimate transaction rumor.