Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Ray Burris

THE ULTIMATE METS DATABASE IS NOT AFFILIATED IN ANY WAY WITH THE NEW YORK METS OR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL.

- All-Time Roster Every Met player... EVER!
- Mug Shots The pretty ones and the ugly ones -- we have them all!
- Player Awards Cy Young, Rookie of the Year, Hall of Fame, and more.
- Transactions Over a thousand player transactions -- in chronological order!
- Managers & Coaches The men who have led the Mets, and the men who helped them.
- Mets Staff Executives, General Managers, Broadcasters, and more. (And Jane Jarvis too!)
- Birth Places Perfect for planning your Mets pilgrimages!
- Oldest Living Mets See which Mets players have spent the most time walking the Earth.
- Necrology Mets players and personnel who are no longer with us.

- Game Results
  All the wins, all the losses. Includes box scores and score cards!
- Opening Day
  The first day of each season! See the starting lineups, who started at each position year-by-year, and leaders by position.
- Walkoff Wins & Losses
  Interactively search for the happiest and saddest endings to Mets games.
- Postseason Games How the Mets have fared in the games that count the most!
- No-Hitters & One-Hitters See a list of every no-hitter and one-hitter pitched by the Mets, or against them. One of these categories was frustratingly empty for over fifty years, but not anymore!
- All-Star Games Mets who have appeared in baseball's Mid-Summer Classic
- Opponents & Ballparks See the Mets won-lost record against every team, and in every ballpark in which they've played!
- Daily Standings What was the Mets' pennant outlook on any given day in past seasons?
- Yearly Finishes The heights and the depths: the Mets won-lost record at the end of each season.
- Mayor's Trophy Games A look back at the long-ago annual series between the Mets and their Bronx rivals.

- Leaderboards Career, season, and individual game leaders at your fingertips!
- Team Leaders Players who led the Mets in various categories, from season to season.
- Decade Leaders Mets history broken down into ten-year chunks!
- Post-Season Leaders Mets leaders, by category, in post-season games

- Ultimate Mets Scrapbook The history of the Mets, as it was reported when it happened!
- Forum Visit the Crane Pool Forum to discuss the Mets and just about anything else!
- Fan Memories Insightful. Poignant. Thrilling. Somber. Nutty. Our visitors have submitted thousands of thoughts and memories of the Mets and the games they've played.
- Mets Uniforms It's more than just laundry! Trace the evolution of the Mets official uniform over the years.
- Uniform Numbers In association with Mets By the Numbers, we present a full history of who wore what number, and when!/li>
- Baseball Cards Our collection of home-made baseball cards, in the style of the classic Topps cards of the 1970's.
- This Date in Mets History Births, Deaths, Transactions, Newspaper Covers

- Contact Us
- FAQ Frequently Asked Questions

Mets
Statistics

Situational
Statistics

Ray Burris
vs. the Mets

Ray Burris
vs. Other Teams

Memories of
Ray Burris

Ray Burris
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 279 of 1233 players

Bertram Ray Burris
Born: August 22, 1950 at Idabel, Okla.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.05 Weight: 210

Ray Burris was the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup on January 7, 2012, August 22, 2012, February 14, 2016, August 15, 2017, September 23, 2019, and April 13, 2021.

First Mets game: August 24, 1979
Last Mets game: October 1, 1980

Share your memories of Ray Burris

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Steve
Ray's sixth start for the Mets was a tough loss. He shut out the opposing team (San Diego?) on 2 hits thru 7 innings, but then a run scored on a botched rundown play and Ray lost the game, 1-0. He must have sweated off 10 pounds in that game!
He perspired profusely. He sweated a lot, too.

Jim F
February 16, 2001
Only Murph could get away with saying "Oh how that man perspires!"

Mr. Sparkle
June 3, 2002
All you have to know about the 1980 season was that Ray Burris led the team in starts. From that you can guess they ended up in the cellar. I remember him being a decent pitcher with the Cubs but he was horrendous with the Mets. Bounced around a hell of a lot after that. You gotta be a die hard fan to have loved them through the dark ages of the late 70's early 80's.

Ave-Rod
March 26, 2003
After reading about him as a Met, I can only say he turned out pretty good after that. I live in Texas and he is one of my coaches and has helped me become a better player and pitcher. He has a big heart and I owe him a lot.

Ray Sauber
March 29, 2003
I saw Burris pitch a great game for Montreal vs. Cincinnati in 1981, but he still lost 2-0. Bruce Berenyi pitched a one-hitter for the Reds that day. I remember as a kid, I liked Ray Burris, and Ray Knight....must be the "ray" thing.

Kiwiwriter
September 9, 2004
The Yankees traded Dick Tidrow to the Cubs for Ray Burris in 1979, when the Yankees needed bullpen help. Rich Gossage was on the DL after the fight with Cliff Johnson. Logically, the Yankees traded one of their more reliable pitchers. Burris did little with the Yankees, so they unloaded him on the Mets later that year. So he got to pitch on two rolling disasters in 1979.
Tidrow became Bruce Sutter's highly effective set-up man. Ooops again.
But Burris was an extremely nice guy and very bright (for a ballplayer), and I remember that during his term with the Mets, he repeatedly went out to baseball clinics for kids and taught them how to play and warned them against drugs and alcohol. That makes him a role model for me.

Bob P
April 30, 2005
Ray's "almost-big-moment" came after leaving the Mets. He pitched eight innings of five-hit ball for the Expos against the Dodgers in the final game of the 1981 NLCS at Olympic Stadium with the only run scoring on an infield out. Unfortunately for Ray, Montreal ace starter Steve Rogers came in to pitch the ninth and gave up the series-winning two-out homer to Rick Monday in what had to be the most excruciating loss in the history of the Expos franchise.
Five days earlier, Ray had pitched a five-hit shutout to win game two.

Gary
March 31, 2007
I remember how much he use to sweat when he pitched, even in April when the weather was still cool.

Alton Brooks Collier
January 6, 2008
I had the opportunity to catch for Ray in American Legion Baseball during the late 60's. I was not his regular catcher as Lyndall C. broke his leg. What I remember most about Ray was the fact that I was the worst catcher he ever had and not once did he blame anything on me although I was the goat. I first met Ray and his brother Johnny riding the bus in grade school. He was a fantastic guy and I like to think that we were friends whether he got famous or not. I will always remember that tall skinny kid as long as I live and because of my lack of talent he will probably remember me. Love you Ray, my hand still glows red at night.

Orange and Blue Forever
April 27, 2013
In 1980, some of the Mets appeared on the "Eight is Enough" television show. Ray was one of guys who took part in the filming. He got his own line to speak in the scene that featured the players. After throwing a pitch, Ray told his (actor) coach that his hand was hurting him. The other Mets "cast members" in scene only got to play and watch.

MetsTV
July 10, 2020
Ray was among a group of Mets in the "Eight Is Enough" episode described in the previous entry. It was the second of two scenes that included the real players from the team. In the first one, Burris and three other Mets - in their home uniforms - do a practice drill in front of the dugout. Ray is the only Met to appear in both scenes.

Donna P
September 7, 2021
As a fan growing up in the 70s, I watched the Mets on WOR and wrote pen pal letters to my heroes. Ray was the only player who took the time to write to a preteen and thank me for my kind notes. Over the years as he was traded I would send a note expressing and wishing good luck. After many years of correspondence we actually met and have been friends for over forty years. He is a class act wonderful human being. The first time you talk to Ray, you feel like he is an old friend. I am so thankful he answered my simple pen pal letter.