Ray Knight

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Ray Knight
Ray Knight 2007.jpg
Knight on Nats Xtra in 2007
Third baseman / First baseman / Manager
Born: (1952-12-28) December 28, 1952 (age 72)
Albany, Georgia, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 10, 1974, for the Cincinnati Reds
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1988, for the Detroit TigersLWin %WLWin %
Cincinnati Reds 1996 1997 124137.475—
2003 101.000
Total125137.47700–
Ref.: [14]

1986 Mets reunion

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 included manager Davey Johnson, (who was managing Team USA in Cuba), Dwight Gooden (who was serving a jail sentence), Roger McDowell (who was the Atlanta Braves pitching coach at the time), Lee Mazzilli (who was the New York Yankees bench coach at the time), and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre. Knight's absence was due to a previous commitment. [15]

Personal life

Knight married LPGA golfer Nancy Lopez on October 25, 1982, in Pelham, Georgia. The wedding, the second for both, was at the home of his partner in a Pelham sporting goods store. [1] Knight and Lopez met by chance in Korakuen Stadium in Tokyo in 1978. [16] He and Lopez had three daughters together, Ashley Marie (1983), Erinn Shea (1986) and Torri Heather Knight (1991). [17] They lived in Albany, Georgia, and also had a home in The Villages, Florida. [18] Lopez designed her first golf course for The Villages and the three nines of the 27-hole Lopez Legacy course are named for the daughters: Ashley Meadows, Torri Pines, and Erinn Glenn. [19] In 1985, he had a 7 handicap in golf and sometimes caddied for her, but not in big tournaments. [16] Knight and Lopez divorced in 2009. [20] A son from his first marriage, Brooks Knight, died in 2022. [16]

In 2013, Phoebe Putney Hospital in Albany, Georgia, unveiled a street on the property named Ray Knight Way. [21]

Knight is good friends with former Reds' teammate Harry Spilman, who grew up twenty minutes away from Knight in Georgia. While they were both in the Reds' system, the two spent $700 on a pitching machine to work on their hitting. [22]

Knight is a member of the Golden Gloves boxing association.

On October 23, 2017, Knight was arrested after an altercation at his condo in the Alexandria, Virginia, area with an unidentified 33-year-old man. Both were taken to the hospital and Knight was charged with assault and battery. [23] The charges were subsequently dropped. [24]

Knight participated in the 2021 ESPN 30 for 30 documentary series about the 1986 New York Mets season, Once Upon a Time in Queens. [25]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Nancy Lopez marries Ray Knight". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. October 27, 1982. p. 12. Retrieved January 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds 5, San Diego Padres 2". Baseball-Reference.com. September 10, 1974. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  3. ↑ Brown, Frank (August 2, 1979). "Foster sidelined, but his bat still assisting Reds". The Lewiston Evening Journal. p. 21. Retrieved January 9, 2020– via Google News Archive.
  4. ↑ "Cincinnati Reds 15, New York Mets 4". Baseball-Reference.com. May 13, 1980. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Two Home Runs in One Inning". MLB.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2008.
  6. ↑ "1980 All-Star Game Box Score, July 8". Baseball-Reference.com. July 8, 1980. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  7. ↑ "Ray Knight Trades and Transactions". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  8. 1 2 Lawrence, Mitch (July 10, 1986). "Even the Mets are amazed..." The Day. New London, Connecticut. p. D5. Retrieved January 9, 2020– via Google News Archive.
  9. ↑ Salfino, Michael (February 26, 2008). "Best of the bunch. Mets no strangers to fisticuffs on the diamond". SNY.tv. Archived from the original on July 24, 2011.
  10. ↑ "New York Mets 6, Cincinnati Reds 3". Baseball-Reference.com. July 22, 1986. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  11. ↑ "1986 World Series, Game Six". Baseball-Reference.com. October 25, 1986. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Umpire dies on the field: Heart attack kills John McSherry on Opening Day". The Record. Associated Press. April 1, 1996. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  13. ↑ Janes, Chelsea (November 4, 2018). "Ray Knight will not return to MASN's Nationals broadcasts next season" . The Washington Post . Archived from the original on November 5, 2018. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Ray Knight". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  15. ↑ Noble, Marty (August 19, 2006). "'86 Mets reunite at Shea". MLB.com . Archived from the original on October 6, 2008.
  16. 1 2 3 Durso, Joseph (March 31, 1985). "Knight and Lopez Keep Home and Heart in Play". The New York Times. pp. 5–1. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Nancy Lopez | Bio". Ladies Professional Golf Association. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Villages 101: Did Hall of Fame golfer Nancy Lopez ever call The Villages home?". Villages-News. January 4, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  19. ↑ "NANCY LOPEZ - Clubhouse". Golf The Villages. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  20. ↑ "Nancy Lopez And Ray Knight Splitting After 27 Years". RadarOnline. July 20, 2009. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Knight and Lopez honored with Albany streets". WALB. March 8, 2013. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Replace Rose is dream of Spilman". The Gadsden Times . Associated Press. March 12, 1978. p. 51. Retrieved January 9, 2020– via Google News Archive.
  23. ↑ "Washington Nationals TV analyst Charles Ray Knight arrested for assault and battery in Alexandria". WTTG . Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  24. ↑ Jouvenal, Justin (January 8, 2017). "Assault charges against Washington Nationals TV analyst Ray Knight are dropped" . The Washington Post . Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  25. ↑ Botte, Peter (August 25, 2021). "'Debauchery' and a decapitated cat: Inside ESPN's wild Mets documentary". New York Post. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
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