Sonny Gray

Sonny Douglas Gray (born November 7, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB).

He has previously played in MLB for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Cincinnati Reds and Minnesota Twins.

Gray attended Vanderbilt University and played college baseball for the Vanderbilt Commodores.

In addition to his success on the mound, he also played quarterback for Smyrna's football team, guiding them to back-to-back 5A State titles in 2006 and 2007.

As a junior, he led his team to the 2007 State Tournament with an 11–2 win–loss record and a 0.95 earned run average (ERA).

This earned him a nod for the AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic, and a nomination for National Player of the Year (which Tim Melville ultimately won).

As a senior, he went 4–0 with a 0.79 ERA.

He was voted Gatorade Player of the Year by The Tennessean in 2007 and 2008 for his overall athletic success.

Gray also was involved in other extra-curricular activities in high school.

He starred as the lead character (Troy Bolton) in his school's rendition of High School Musical on Stage!

However, he was injured in a district game in April 2008 that ended his season.

He also excelled at the plate, batting over .500 his last two seasons at Smyrna, but instead opted to pitch in college.

Having already made a verbal commitment to Vanderbilt University before Smyrna's state tournament run, he was drafted in the 27th round by the Chicago Cubs in the 2008 MLB Draft.

He did not sign with the team.

As a freshman for the Vanderbilt Commodores baseball team, he began as a relief pitcher, earning four saves before moving to a starter's role late in the season.

He posted a 4.30 ERA, which he would improve upon in the next two years.

He was designated as the ace of Vanderbilt's pitching staff in 2010 and 2011.

In 2010, he went 10–5 with a 3.48 ERA, and led the team in strikeouts (113).

Gray's junior year was his most successful, as he went 12–4 with a 2.43 ERA and 132 strikeouts.

He also helped Vanderbilt earn their first-ever College World Series berth, making it to the semifinals and losing to national runner-up Florida.

The Athletics selected Gray in the first round of the 2011 MLB draft.

Gray was selected 18th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2011 MLB Draft.

He elected to forgo his senior year at Vanderbilt, and signed with Oakland for a $1.54 million signing bonus.

After he signed, the Athletics assigned Gray to the Midland RockHounds of the Class AA Texas League.

The next year, Gray began his season with Midland.

There, he posted a 4.14 ERA before being promoted to the Sacramento River Cats of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League, where he struggled in his only start.

He made his MLB debut in 2013, won the American League Pitcher of the Month Award twice in 2014, and has been named an MLB All-Star in 2015, 2019, and 2023.

To start the 2013 season, Gray returned to the River Cats, where he posted a 2.81 ERA and was selected to start the Triple-A All-Star Game for the Pacific Coast League.

On July 10, 2013, Gray was called up to replace Dan Straily, who had been optioned to Triple-A.

He made his first major league appearance out of the bullpen, in relief of Jerry Blevins, against the Pittsburgh Pirates in Pittsburgh.

Gray pitched two innings, tallying three strikeouts and allowing a single hit.

He allowed neither a run nor a walk.

Gray made a second relief appearance nine days later against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but was then sent back down to the minors.

Gray was recalled again by the Athletics on August 10, and made his first Major League start against Mark Buehrle and the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto.

This was supposed to be just a spot start in Tommy Milone's place in the rotation after Milone's struggles and subsequent option down to Triple-A Sacramento.

The Yankees acquired Gray in 2017 and traded him to the Reds before the 2019 season.

Gray was born in Nashville, Tennessee, to Cindy and Jesse Gray, and lived in Nashville until his family moved to Smyrna, Tennessee, before his eighth-grade year.

His father died in a car accident during Gray's freshman year of high school, just as Gray started playing baseball for Smyrna High School.

As a freshman, he pitched and played left field and was named Freshman of the Year in District 9AAA.

As a sophomore, he suffered injuries and saw limited action during the season.