Bobby Ayala


Robert Joseph Ayala is an American former professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs and Montreal Expos. He showed promise as a relief pitcher for the Mariners, but then struggled and was eventually released.

Career

Ayala went to high school at Rio Mesa in Oxnard, California. He was brought up with the Reds as a starter before moving to the bullpen in his second season. The Reds traded Ayala with catcher Dan Wilson to the Mariners for Bret Boone and Erik Hanson in November.
Ayala had some success in Seattle, finishing the strike-shortened season with a 2.86 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 57 innings while saving 18 games. During the "magical" Mariners 1995 season, the team held a promotional "Bobby Ayala Goatee Night," where fans wearing a goatee could get free tickets.
Ayala struggled mightily over the next few seasons, often blowing key saves and drawing criticism from Mariners fans and the Seattle press. This culminated on April 24, 1996, when Ayala suffered a severe hand laceration trying to open a Chicago hotel window.
The Mariners traded Ayala to the Montreal Expos for minor leaguer Jimmy Turman on April 3, 1999, with Seattle paying all of Ayala's $1.8 million salary that year. Montreal released him a few months later and he finished the season pitching for the Chicago Cubs.
The Minnesota Twins signed Ayala as a free agent, making him a non-roster invitee for the season. They released him before the start of the regular season.
He started the regular 2000 season pitching for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, but after starting 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA, was released on May 8.
On May 18, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate, the Albuquerque Dukes. Two months and nine saves later, the Dukes released him.