1960
RAY WEBSTER   IF

Ray Webster was born in Grass Valley, Cal, on November 15, 1937. He became a professional baseball player at the age of 17, signing with the AAA Sacramento Solons in 1955 after graduating from Marysville High School. He signed as a shortstop, but he also had a pretty impressive record as a pitcher, with a no-hitter and a one-hitter while playing in the Marysville junior league.

The Solons optioned him to the Class-B Salem Senators. He didn’t get much playing time, but he did get five hits in 13 at-bats. He came back to the Senators in 1955 as the team’s regular shortstop, and he hit .253. The Solons were pleased at his effort in his first full season, even if there were some concerns about whether his arm would suit him at shortstop.

Ray moved up to the Class-A Amarillo Gold Sox in 1957 and showed a power stroke for the first time where he slammed 19 home runs. He appeared in all but two innings for the Gold Sox in ’57. After that season, the Solons brought him to AAA for 1958. His hitting slumped to .244, but he hit 10 home runs.

Cleveland selected Ray in December 1958, as part of the minor-league draft because Indians manager Joe Gordon had heard good things about the youngster and recommended him. The problem was that the team already had a capable shortstop with Woodie Held.

Ray played in 40 games for Cleveland in 1959. A late-season flurry of hits left him with a .203 average on the year.

In 1960, he was traded to the Boston Red Sox near the end of spring training and made the Opening Day roster. He pinch ran a few times, pinch-hit a few times and played four innings of second base. He was hitless in three at-bats with a walk and a sacrifice fly before he was cut in May, as the roster was trimmed to 25. Though he was just 22 years old, he’d never return to the majors.

Ray spent several more seasons in the minor leagues. He was assigned by the Sox to Indianapolis, but he spent the bulk of 1960 with the Montreal Royals. He logged time with Vancouver, Hawaii and Charlotte before calling it quits after 1963. In eight minor-league seasons, he hit .253 with 45 homers.

Ray and his wife relocated back to California, where he became an insurance agent and stayed active in semipro ball around the Marysville area, as both a player and a manager.

Ray Webster was inducted into the Christian Brothers High School La Salle Hall of Fame in 2004, along with 11 other Northern California baseball stars and died of liver cancer in Browns Valley, California at the age of 82.