Gray played
college baseball at
Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and was selected by the Rangers in the 18th round of the
1974 Major League Baseball draft. He spent 1974 with the Rangers' rookie squad, then played for the
Anderson Rangers in 1975. With Anderson, Gray had a .302
batting average, 18
home runs, and 95
runs batted in in 135 games. In 1976, he played for the
San Antonio Brewers, and had a .305 batting average, 19 home runs, and 109 runs batted in over 124 games. Gray spent the next three seasons primarily with the
Tucson Toros, the Rangers' AAA affiliate, but saw bits of playing time with the major league Rangers. He made his debut on June 23, 1977, going 0-for-2 in his only game, and played in 17 and 16 games the following two seasons. Before the 1980 season began, the Rangers traded Gray, Mike Bucci, and
Larry McCall to the Cleveland Indians for
David Clyde and
Jim Norris. That year, he hit .148 in 28 games with Cleveland, and spent most of the year with the
Tacoma Tigers. The following offseason, he was picked up by the Seattle Mariners in the
Rule 5 Draft, as manager
Rene Lachemann watched Gray play in the
Pacific Coast League and wanted him in the starting lineup. He had his best season in 1981, splitting time at first base with starter
Bruce Bochte and hitting 13 home runs in just 208
at bats. The next season, he hit .257 in a career high 80 games. ==References==