Josiah Gray, visiting Le Moyne College for the first time since 2020, told a packed house at the Panasci Family Chapel Thursday: “It’s sweet to come back and feel the love.”

Gray, coming off a season in which his 3.91 earned run average with the Washington Nationals was strong enough to make him a Major League Baseball all-star, spoke at Panasci in the company of Roberto Clemente Jr., son of the late Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer – the namesake of a baseball humanitarian award for which Gray was nominated.

The talk, moderated by NewsChannel 9 sports director Steve Infanti, was sponsored and coordinated by Le Moyne’s  Department of Athletics, the McNeil Speaker Series, and the Office of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging.

Coming into college, Gray said he was not very highly recruited and only held one scholarship offer: Le Moyne College. He said, “I had no choice” but to choose Le Moyne. Starting his career at “The Heights” he played shortstop, but was then moved to pitcher.

Gray had a breakout season as a junior and tallied up an 11-0 record that season. He said “every game there were a handful of scouts.” He was then drafted in the second round of the MLB draft to the Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he broke into the Majors in 2021, and eventually ended up with the Washington Nationals, where he
became a key pitcher.

Gray has a huge involvement in his community outside of baseball; that is why he was up for the Clemente award. He is currently a youth ambassador for the Washington Nationals youth academy.

He said of those children: “I fell in love with it right away. I wish I had this as a kid. It’s just that ‘giving-back nature’ and I like to see their faces light up.” Gray talks about how even just tossing around a ball with the kids brightens up their whole spirit.

As far as Roberto Clemente Jr., this was his first time at Le Moyne College. He had been to the Syracuse area before to perform clinics, but never to the college.

He talked about the impact that his father – who died on a humanitarian mission to help earthquake survivors – had in many people's lives. He said that after games his dad would welcome players into their home and feed them, especially Latino players. He said of his dad: “When you hear his name, you are thinking about goodwill. Baseball is secondary”

That’s how good of a person his father was, Clemente Jr. emphasized. He also talked about how good it was to carry on his father’s legacy.

Clemente Jr., a former minor league baseball player himself, talked a lot about the importance of doing something you love. He said if you have a passion for something and you really love it, then it never really feels like work.

He talked about growing up as a baseball player and how badly he wanted to win a World Series, like his dad. He never had the opportunity to do that as a major leaguer, but he did win a World Series ring as a broadcaster for the New York Yankees. This was a huge accomplishment for him and something he will never forget.