By Michael Letendre
NEWINGTON – When Bristol’s Adam Peters and Bunty Ray were inducted into the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League Hall of Fame on November 18 (Class of 2023), the duo left a legacy that is tremendous in scope.
And wherever one player went, the other was quick to follow.
From Herb’s Sports Shop, to the East Hartford Jets and finally with the Bristol Merchants, the Peters/Ray combination excelled at every stop.
The former Bristol Eastern and Bristol American Legion standouts were two of the best local players to suit up for the Merchants – winning both regular season and postseason titles and together.
The duo had numerous clutch moments from Muzzy Field in Bristol and frankly, there are too many to count.
Here’s a special look at the careers of Peters and Ray – two of the newest inductees of the GHTBL Hall of Fame, Class of 2023 (this wasn’t part of the original write-ups due to the length of their HOF stories):
The Adam Peters File
*All-State shortstop (Class L, 1990) at Bristol Eastern under head coach Mike Giovinazzo.
*All-ECAC shortstop at Central Connecticut State University (1992).
*Suited up for the Schenectady Mohawks of the Northeast Collegiate Baseball League (1992).
*Played 20 years in the GHTBL for Herb’s Sports Shop, East Hartford Jets and the Bristol Merchants.
*Was an eight time First Team GHTBL All-Star while taking Second Team honors on four separate occasions.
*Earned the ‘Outstanding Playoff Performance (1996) while playing for Herb’s and the Jack Repass Award (Golden Glove, 1997).
*In 1997, Peters was seventh in the GHTBL in batting average (.409) to go along with eight home runs and 23 RBI for Herb’s.
*Won a GHTBL regular season title with the Jets in 1998 – one of six he eventually tallied while playing in the league. Peters won the other five with the Merchants in 2005-07 and then again in 2009-10.
*In 2003, Peters batted .403 with 24 RBI during his second season for the Merchants.
*Took home postseason championships with the Merchants in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2009.
*Made postseason championship appearances from 2004-2010 – all while playing for buddy and friend, head coach Bunty Ray in Bristol.
*Also played at second base and was a DH for the Merchants late in his stellar career.
*Peters played in the Connecticut Tri-State League with the Burlington Hunters and was also a member of the West Hartford Cannons baseball program.
*Also coached one season with the Burlington American Legion Baseball program, turning the team around.
The Bunty Ray File
*Played 16 years in the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League, starting in the mid-1990s while playing collegiately at Eastern Connecticut State University under legendary coach Bill Holowaty.
*The right fielder was also a model manager in the GHTBL while also pitching a time or two along the way.
*Suited up for Herb’s Sports Shop (1997-98) and the East Hartford Jets (1999-2001) before taking over for Bristol coach Ed Smith Jr. in 2002 as a player-coach of the Bristol Merchants until 2010.
*Helped managed the Merchants to GHTBL Regular Season titles in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
*Guided the program to postseason championships in 2005-2007 and one more in 2009.
*The Merchants played for postseason titles from 2004-2010.
*In nine years coaching the Merchants, Ray was 214-83 overall – winning 72-percent of his games.
*Coached the Merchants to two 26-win campaigns and won no fewer than 21 games over his nine year managerial stint in Bristol.
*Ray was the Bo Kolinsky Manager of the Year three times and won the GHTBL ‘Manager of the Decade’ for the 2000s.
*Postseason play saw Ray and Merchants wrangle up a 33-12 record in 45 playoff games.
*As a player, Ray earned either First or Second All-Star recognition eight times for his play in the outfield.
*In 2003, he took home the Jack Repass Award (Golden Glove) – batting .495 that season, second in the league.
*When it came to hitting, outside of batting against left-handed pitching (he carried a .070 average against lefties. Not good), Ray finished in the top-10 in hitting on four different occasions.
*Before the GHTBL, Ray helped Bristol Eastern to two semifinal berths over his junior and seniors years, coached by Mike Giovinazzo. Those teams went 36-9 over that two-year stint.
*Batted .457 as a junior and .357 as a senior while carrying a .424 average in 1994 for the Bristol American Legion Baseball Team (Zone 1), winning the zone and Connecticut State Championships and helped Post 2 to the New England Regional finals under coach Jim Ziogas.
*Earned Zone 1 All-Star honors twice.
*Lettered in soccer at Eastern for head coach Bill Sweet and was an CCC South All-Conference selection in the sport.
*Played for the World Series champions at Eastern Connecticut State University under Coach Bill Holowaty.
*Batted .324 as a senior as the 1998 program won the NCAA Division III championship.
*As a junior, Ray posted a .354 batting average and was named to the 1997 First Team All-Regional Tournament squad.
*The long time mentor is currently the head coach of the Bristol Central baseball program and the lead man of the Bristol Eastern boys basketball team.
*He’s coached under Sweet for the boys soccer program at BEHS and has over 70 seasons under his belt in coaching scholastic sports in Bristol at both Bristol Central and Bristol Eastern.
*He is currently one of the owner/operators of the Bristol Sports Armory.
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