Gray, arguably the most coveted item on the trade market, was rumored to be pulled from the outing less than an hour before his scheduled first pitch in a report that quickly proved false.
The pitcher was among those who got wind of the inaccurate tweet published by a Cubs reporter.
"When you get 50 text messages 45 minutes before the game, that's when you just kind of put the phone away and go to a place where you can just block everything out and get ready for the game," Gray said. "So that's what I tried to do.