By Michael Letendre
Thursday was a special day for Bristol Central baseball coach Bunty Ray.
It just seemed like yesterday when Ray took over for long time coach Tom Moylan, replacing a tremendous mentor for the program whose 24 glorious years saw him rack up over 270 career wins.
Due to bad knees, Moylan stepped down in 2007 and Ray – who was an assistant coach over the previous eight seasons at BCHS – took the baton, just as Moylan did when legendary coach Bill McCooey retired in 1983.
And the Central baseball program has never skipped a beat under Ray as the long-time mentor entered the 2022 campaign needing just one win for his 200th.
However, due to the pandemic, missed opportunities and just general bad luck, that pleasure was deferred until April 14, 2022.
Stuck on 199
After losing players – and games – to COVID and a tough loss to Daniel Hand in the 2021 state tournament fray, the Rams entered the campaign this year with Ray perched on 199 wins.
Central opened the season losing at Maloney (7-2) and then had Plainville on the ropes this past Monday, making a big comeback to force extra innings before dropping a tough 4-3 decision in nine frames.
On Wednesday, the Rams lost at Avon (7-4) before Thursday’s historic win at Farmington.
Against the River Hawks, Central notched three quick runs over first inning play, added another in the second, and by the completion of the CCC Interdivisional bout, the locals were 4-3 winners and Ray had win number 200 in hand.
“I got on the bus [after the Farmington game and] the kids all congratulated me, my assistants said something because it was all about the game,” said Ray. “On the way home, we always talk after the game. I mentioned some things and reflected on the way back home. Longevity gets you wins but the biggest thing is the players, the assistant coaches, and everything that goes into it. I’ve been doing it enough through three sports to know how hard this is.”
Ray’s career record at Central is currently 200-105 going into today’s contest at Simsbury.
The amazing part of Ray’s journey at Bristol Central is how it started way back in the late 1990s as he joined the baseball program as an assistant under Moylan.
Three CCC South titles followed and then in 2006, the baseball team was in the Class LL championship game – the first and only time the Rams have been in a state title tilt.
Moylan was hobbled for several games that season and Ray took over the head coaching duties for those contests.
No. 13 Central made a surprise run, beating No. 20 Westhill (4-1) in first round played and punished No. 36 Ridgefield in the next round – 12-3.
In quarterfinal play, the Rams pushed by No. 5 Glastonbury (7-3) and in the semifinals, Central got by No. 24 Southington by a 5-4 final.
And on June 10, 2006, the Rams fell to No. 3 Amity in the title clash – falling 3-2 from Yale Field.
Ray took over the following season, a squad that had just won 18 games the previous year and was looking to leave his mark on the program – understanding how important it was to keep tradition.
And it didn’t take long for Ray to win that all-important first game.
April 9, 2007
Ray’s first game as the man in charge came when the Rams traveled to play East Hartford in a CCC Interdivisional showdown.
And the contest was a complete success as reliever Mitch Rossi – who is currently an assistant coach for the Central baseball program – threw the final two innings of shutout ball to propel the locals to a 3-0 victory.
It would be the first of 200 wins for the outstanding coach.
“One of the things that was special for me was [assistant coach] Mitch Rossi – who was sitting next to me on the bench [at Farmington]. He was on the field and closed out the game for my first victory,” said Ray. “Now I’m sitting here, a short time later, and here he is sitting with me for win number two-hundred.”
Connecting the Dots
Also, in Central’s 4-3 win over Farmington, and another dot was connected for Ray on the field from Tunxis Mead Park.
Winning the game on the hill for Central was Nate Pirog – the grandson of former Bristol Central’s softball coach Phil Pirog – for Ray’s 200th victory.
Those connections through the years are simply amazing to comprehend when you break down the little pieces through all the games Ray was a part of at Bristol Central.
“You think about different players, you think about different decades, I’ve been coaching that long where I’m not in tune to what’s going on – being able to reflect – as opposed to kind of pushing forward,” said Ray. “The wins are all based on the kids and how hard they work. Again, when I got back on the bus [after beating Farmington], we were talking about the process. It means more about how we win than anything else for us. I’m proud of this team because we’re very young and them being able to experience something like this is good.”
“We talk about tradition…nowadays, I want them to be a part of a program and be a part of something different, something that isn’t self-driving, something that is important and being part of their school. That’s what it means to me more than anything.”
The story on Ray’s 200th victory continues in the pages of TBE on Tuesday.
