Corey Ray, former Brewers top pick, finds happiness after playing days

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MILWAUKEE - At one point in time, fans thought fall baseball inside American Family Field would include Corey Ray.

Instead, the former Milwaukee Brewers outfielder is coaching for the Prep Baseball Report All American Game.

"It was a lot of fun," said Ray. "This ballpark is beautiful. So it's always a pleasure to come here."

Ray was selected fifth overall by Milwaukee in the 2016 MLB Draft.

At the end of 2022, he hung up his cleats following a seventh year in the Brewers' minor league system.

"I haven't had a chance to reflect back on my playing career," Ray said. "Being here was, I think, the first step of that reflection, and everything that I accomplished as a player."

Ray said injuries were the main reason for his departure from the game.

"I think I got to a point where in my offseason training was about not getting hurt the next year and not bettering myself as a baseball player," said Ray. "I think when you get to that point and all the injuries I've had, it's just no longer fun."

The 29-year-old said, once the injuries affected his home life, he knew what he had to do.

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"I got to a point I was so injured, and I was so upset with the way that my career was going that my family kind of suffered a little bit," Ray said. "I wasn't the same person, right, because I was so depressed, or I was so upset at the way things have been going. And being injured is never easy. And dealing with that and coping with that was flowing into my own home life."

Ray made his major league debut in April 2021 and went 0-for-2. That was his only game with the Brewers. He said he has no regrets.

"I can live with it because I put everything that I could, everything that I had into being a player and into being a successful player," said Ray. "But it just wasn't in my cards to play a very long time in the professional game."

Ray said one of his favorite memories was one of his only experiences inside what was then Miller Park.

"Just being able to be here and being around the big leaguers, taking BP, my first taste of Miller Park and a big league batting practice, what it takes day in and day out to be a big leaguer," Ray said. "And you always remember things like that."

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Ray's coaching career is not just a one-off at American Family Field with high schoolers. After walking away from the game as a player, he joined the Myrtle Beach Pelicans – the Chicago Cubs' Single-A affiliate – as a bench coach.

"When I was a player, my goal was that one person would turn on the TV, see me play and want to play baseball, right? Want to be the next Corey Ray," said Ray. "And now I'm able to have a hands-on approach and actually help the next Corey Ray that's following behind me."

Only seven years into his professional baseball career, Ray said there's a lot more ahead of him.

"They say the days go by slow, but the years go by fast. And that's exactly what happened. It feels like I just got drafted yesterday, and I was in this ballpark taking batting practice," he said. "I think I had a lot of fun in my playing career, and I'm going to have a lot of fun coaching."

Ray said his dream is still to make it to the majors. He also said his body is feeling a lot better, which allows him to focus more on his family and his players.