Old Timers Banquet to Feature Sonny Gray. Smyrna and Vanderbilt pitcher was 2015 American League All Star

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NASHVILLE, TN – November 28, 2018 – Major League pitcher Sonny Gray will be featured speaker at the 81st annual Old Timers banquet, scheduled for Wednesday, January 16, 2019 at the Nashville Airport Marriott.

A product of Smyrna High School, Gray was selected to play in the AFLAC All-American High School Baseball Classic. A three-year football letterman as quarterback of Smyrna's 5A State championship teams in 2006 and 2007, he was a four-year letterman in baseball, hitting .518 during his senior year. He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 27th round of the 2008 amateur draft, but did not sign.

In his first season at Vanderbilt he was named to Louisville Slugger’s Freshman All-American team after going 5-1 with a 4.30 ERA, and was a second-team All-SEC choice as a sophomore when he won 10 games and led the team in strikeouts with 113. He helped the Commodores earn their first College World Series berth his junior year when he had a 12–4 record with a 2.43 ERA and 132 strikeouts.

Drafted by Oakland as the 18th pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, he signed with the Athletics, foregoing his senior year at Vanderbilt. His minor league stops included the Midland Rock Hounds and Sacramento River Cats before he earned a callup to Oakland in 2013. In 2015 he was 14–7 with a 2.73 ERA, was selected to the All Star team, and finished third in the American League Cy Young Award voting. In five seasons with Oakland he was 44-36 before being traded to the New York Yankees on July 31, 2017.

Banquet tickets are now on sale for $75 each and may be purchased from any Old Timers board member. Get them while they last. THiS EVENT WILL SELL OUT! For more information call Old Timers president Nick Hiter (504-1197), Farrell Owens (587-1384) or Rip Ryman (319-8459).

Formed in 1938 by a group of local baseball enthusiasts, the Old Timers organization is one of the oldest such organizations in the United States.

(The Old Timers Baseball Association of Nashville is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and all contributions are tax-deductible)