Topic: Ray Durham

Ray Durham (born November 30, 1971 in Charlotte, North Carolina), nicknamed The Sugarman, is a Major League Baseball second baseman who is currently a free agent.

A two-time All-Star, Durham in his prime was one of the premier offensive catalysts in all of baseball, providing prototypical lead-off hitting with power. He is a 14-year major league veteran owning a .277 lifetime batting average with 1,222 runs scored, 2,015 hits, 426 doubles, 79 triples, 189 home runs, 858 RBI and 271 stolen bases in 1,925 career games. Durham is considered an average fielder. Though he has solid range on pop-ups, he has been plagued by below-average hands throughout his career. His arm is considered average.

He graduated from Harding University High School in Charlotte in 1990, where he played baseball and football. He was on the state select baseball team and was an honorable mention All-American defensive back. He did not attend college as he began playing minor league baseball with the Gulf Coast White Sox. Ray Durham was originally a 5th round pick by the Chicago White Sox in 1990. He still resides in North Carolina in the off-season, in a small town called Stanley, North Carolina, on the northwest fringes of the Charlotte area.