Spring into Leadership With Texas Rangers Pitcher Jon Gray

by rick gosselin | illustration by samantha ozeale tucker

Jon Gray was an All-America and college baseball’s Pitcher of the Year at the University of Oklahoma when the Colorado Rockies selected him with the third overall pick of the 2013 MLB draft.

Gray always knew what he had to do each spring to prepare himself to be the same high-caliber pitcher for the Rockies that he was for the Sooners. But in his eighth season, he learned a valuable lesson: You may win or lose as a pitcher, but it’s the team that succeeds.

And that lesson came courtesy of the Texas Rangers, who lured Gray away from the Rockies in free agency in 2022. Then-manager Chris Woodward invited eight veteran players into his office on the first day of spring training to discuss where the Rangers were headed that spring—and that season.

Gray was flattered. This was his first time being referred to as one of the “older” guys whose voice mattered.

“This is your team,” Woodward told the group. “You are going to be responsible for them. The attitude this year is going to be dictated by you guys. If you want to be a more relaxed group, that’s fine. But we want everybody to be together on the same page.”

A leadership role was new to Gray. But it suddenly made complete sense.

“My whole time with the Rockies, I held myself in a lot,” Gray says. “I was really kind of a loner. I don’t think it was the best thing for the team. We never had a leader on the pitching staff. I feel that was partly my fault. I felt so young and so out of place. I never took that on me. So I kind of wanted to kick that and be more outgoing and talk to everyone when I got to the Rangers. We can learn a lot from each other. Those relationships are valuable. That was something I overlooked early on.”

The Rangers gave him the opportunity to change. They were counting on Gray to do more than pitch. They were counting on him to lead.

“I didn’t feel valuable as a player when I left Colorado,” says Gray, a career 60-56 starter. “When I came here they were so excited to have me. In my mind I know how good I am. I’ve had trouble getting there. But they knew as well. It felt like they really believed in me and it sparked something in me. I felt rejuvenated.”

Gray became more than just a pitcher for the Rangers. He became a teammate. And he spoke up. He suggested that all the starting pitchers go to the bullpen to watch the starter warm up for the game each day.

“You might see one or two guys out there,” Gray says, “but this last year we all were out there, watching everyone’s routine over and over. That was the first time I’d ever done that. We were there for support. When you’re warming up, you know your guys are watching you, you feel more in place. That’s why some of the best rotations in baseball history were really tight-knit groups.”

The Rangers will build a roster this spring with their 29 exhibition games in Arizona. But they will build a team with the interactions off the field in the clubhouse, the bullpen and even on the golf course, in conversations and over dinners.

“Leaders are the guys who are really good at determining what our attitude is going to be this year,” Gray says. “I’m going to show that every day through my body language and my performance.”