Everything about Ray Knight totally explained
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|debutdate=
September 10
|debutyear=
1974
|debutteam=
Cincinnati Reds
|finaldate=
October 2
|finalyear=
1988
|finalteam=
Detroit Tigers
|stat1label=
Batting average
|stat1value=.271
|stat2label=
Home runs
|stat2value=84
|stat3label=
RBI
|stat3value=595
|teams=
As Player
- Cincinnati Reds (1974-1981)
- Houston Astros (1982-1984)
- New York Mets (1984-1986)
- Baltimore Orioles (1987)
- Detroit Tigers (1988)
As Manager
- Cincinnati Reds (1996-1997, 2003)
|highlights=
- National League pennant: 1986
- World Series champion: 1986
- All-Star (NL): 1980, 1982
- Hutch Award: 1983
- World Series MVP Award: 1986
- Babe Ruth Award: 1986
}}
Charles Ray Knight (born December 28 1952, in Albany, Georgia) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball player who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He was primarily a third baseman, although he did see some action at first base, second base, designated hitter, shortstop and in the outfield. He played for the Cincinnati Reds (1974-1981), Houston Astros (1982-1984), New York Mets (1984-1986), Baltimore Orioles (1987), and the Detroit Tigers (1988). He is now a studio analyst for MASN's coverage of the Washington Nationals.
Knight made his major league debut with Cincinnati in 1974, but didn't become a regular there until replacing the exiting
Pete Rose at
third base in
1979 (Rose had signed with the
Philadelphia Phillies). Knight wasn't on the major league roster for the Reds two championship teams in
1975, and
1976. Knight was an
All Star in 1980 with Cincinnati, and made the team once again in
1982 while a member of the Astros. In
1984 Knight was traded mid-season to the Mets, where he'd wind up on the
World Champion Mets team of 1986.
While Knight is notable as being a very high quality hitter, making the Top 10 leaderboard in batting three times, he's mostly known for his role in the
1986 World Series, when he not only scored the winning run in Game 6 on
Mookie Wilson's famous grounder through
Bill Buckner's legs, but he also hit the tiebreaking
home run in Game 7. Due to his contributions Knight won the
World Series MVP award, and then became the first player to join a new team the season after winning the award, signing with the Orioles in
1987. The Mets granted Knight free agency after it was decided that
Howard Johnson would be the Mets' everyday third baseman. His all-time statistics in the postseason include a .279 BA, with 1 home run and 7 RBIs.
In 1986, Knight also won the
Babe Ruth Award for the
National League and
The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. He was also a winner of the
Hutch Award in
1983.
In a 13-season career, Knight put together a .271
batting average with 84
home runs and 595
RBIs in 1495 games. He had 490
runs and 14 career
stolen bases. He accumulated 266
doubles and 1311
hits in total, in 4829
at bats.
In Knight's
managerial career, he's 125-137, managing the Reds from 1996-97 and in 2003 for one game. In
1997, he forgot how many outs there had been in a half-inning in which the Reds were at bat and called for a
bunt at an inopportune time. He later fined himself
$250 for the incident. The team's lack of success would lead to his eventual firing and his replacement with
Jack McKeon.
Knight is married to
LPGA star
Nancy Lopez, and briefly
caddied for her after retiring.
Knight was one of several members of the 1986 championship team not to attend the 20th anniversary celebration at
Shea Stadium on August 19, 2006; the others include manager
Davey Johnson, (who was managing Team USA in Cuba),
Dwight Gooden (who was serving a jail sentence),
Roger McDowell (who is the
Atlanta Braves pitching coach),
Lee Mazzilli (who was the
New York Yankees bench coach), and pitching coach
Mel Stottlemyre (whose reasons for not attending are unknown). While the official reason given for Knight's absence was a previous commitment, many have speculated that it was more likely because of his treatment by the organization immediately following his heroics in the 1986 World Series.
Broadcasting career
Analyst for ESPN
Pre-and post-game analyst for MASN, 2007
Personal
Ray knight is currently married to Nancy Lopez-Knight who is an LPGA tour champ. They have three kids together Ashley Knight who is the oldest, Erinn Knight who is the middle, and Torri Knight who is the youngest and is still in high school while the others are in college. they live in their home in Albany, Ga.
Trivia
(May 13, 1980) After an 0-for-15 slump with the Reds, Knight homered twice in one inning (5th) in a 15-4 win over the Mets, and is still the only Red to homer twice in one inning.
Johnny Holliday, Knight's fellow MASN broadcaster, has playfully referred to him as "Silverfox."
Further Information
Get more info on 'Ray Knight'.
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