By Michael Letendre 

Our trek through the seasons of the Bristol Merchants in the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League continues today in TPE as a new coach takes over the second-year program. 

Bunty Ray was named coach in 2002 and he knew exactly what the young squad needed. 

He attended Bristol Eastern High School and played baseball for coach Mike Giovinazzo. 

During the summers between Bristol Eastern and his first year of college, Ray played four years of Bristol American Legion Baseball. 

Ray helped the squad win the 1994 Connecticut State Championship which included a long postseason run in the Northeast Regional from West Warick, Rhode Island. 

After Bristol Eastern, Ray played collegiately under coach Bill Holowaty at Eastern Connecticut State University, helping the NCAA Division III program win the World Series in 1998. 

And in terms of coaching baseball, Ray has vast amounts of experience.

He was an assistant coach and eventually head coach at Bristol Central for a combined 20 years. 

Before retiring from the Greater Hartford Twilight Baseball League in 2010, Ray was an eight-time All-Star and a three-time GHTBL Manager of the Year – including a recognition award for Manager of the Decade for his 230-plus wins as the manager of the Bristol Merchants during the 2000s. 

Ray makes a dramatic turnaround 

The former East Hartford Jets’ player made an immediate impact for Bristol, leading the Merchants to at least 21 wins a year over his nine seasons as coach – initially taking charge of the program to start the 74th season of GHTBL action. 

And Ray brought in some reinforcements, outstanding and talented people Ray played with and against over the years. 

The Merchants added the likes of Adam Peters, Kevin Kalmin, Brian Archibald, Chris Strahowski, Chad McCann, and Nate Gawitt – among others – and the program immediately became ultra-competitive. 

The only real negative was that the franchise still did not have a major sponsor in 2002. 

Other than that, Bristol had a quality team forming within its city limits that could hang with the best squads in the league before becoming one of the top GHTBL programs. 

Even with Ray at the helm, Ed Smith was still Bristol’s General Manager. 

Before the season commenced, Ray mentioned that 96-percent of his players were from Bristol as only two players on the squad weren’t from the Mum City.  

How good was that 2002 Bristol team? 

Ray expected a huge improvement from season one to season two by the Merchants. 

He wanted to produce at least a .500 regular season and each year, the goal was the win the GHTBL postseason tournament championship. 

But Ray knew his squad was going to be more than just competitive in league play and that all started for the squad in 2002. 

Name Change? 

A name change was always in the cards for the Merchants, but that one sponsor never materialized to take that next step. 

Until its final game in 2011, the Bristol outfit was always known as the Merchants. 

Over the first couple years, Ray would ask for community contributions that would help with umpires, equipment, and field costs. 

And each time the program struggled due to finances, the outfit found a way to stay on the field. 

Ray of Sunshine 

Ray had played for a couple teams in the GHTBL before becoming the player/manager of the Merchants. 

His baseball experience in coaching came as an assistant coach at Bristol Central under Tom Moylan while Ray also ran the Bristol Pony Leagues in town. 

But how did Ray feel about playing for the GHTBL in the Mum City? 

Simply put, Ray always says it was good to be home in Bristol – competing under the bright lights at Muzzy Field. 

The GHTBL in 2002 

In 2002, the new franchises in the GHTBL included Berlin and Farmington Valley. 

The Newington Capitols did not return as the league lost one team but was up to nine squads overall. 

Each team played a total of thirty-two games – four contests against every squad. 

Six doubleheaders were scheduled from the Bristol home sites of Muzzy Field and Bristol Central.  

Overall, three games were slated for McCooey Field at BCHS. 

Next week, we will dive into the 2002 campaign as the Merchants were looking to storm the GHTBL under its new coach.