Rookie of the Year: Jason Bay, 2004

Outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates

Age:  26 (Sept. 20)

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’2”    Weight: 210

Prior to 2004:

A member of the Little League team from his hometown of Trail, British Columbia that represented Canada in the 1990 Little League World Series Bay went on to play American Legion baseball in a nearby Idaho town. In college he went first to North Idaho Community College and then Gonzaga University. He performed well there, winning the West Coast Conference batting title as a senior with a .388 average. Bay was chosen by the Montreal Expos in the 2000 amateur draft and hit .304 with Vermont of the short-season New York-Pennsylvania League that summer. He spent 2001 in the Florida State and Midwest Leagues and batted a combined .315 with 24 doubles, 14 home runs, and 25 stolen bases. The Expos traded Bay to the New York Mets in 2002 and he performed well in the Florida State and Eastern Leagues before being dealt again, this time to San Diego, who assigned him to Mobile of the Class AA Southern League. Overall with three minor league clubs in 2002, he hit .283 with 17 home runs, 85 RBIs, and stole 39 bases. Bay got off to a strong start with Class AAA Portland in 2003 and was promoted to the Padres in May. He appeared in three games until suffering a broken wrist. In August he was traded to the Pirates along with LHP Oliver Perez for OF Brian Giles. In 105 games for Pittsburgh in ’03 he hit .299 with 16 home runs and 70 RBIs, assuring himself of a spot in the outfield for 2004, although he had to miss the season’s first month due to a shoulder injury.  

2004 Season Summary

Appeared in 120 games

LF – 117, CF – 5, PH – 6

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 472

At Bats – 411

Runs – 61

Hits – 116

Doubles – 24

Triples – 4

Home Runs – 26

RBI – 82

Bases on Balls – 41

Int. BB – 2

Strikeouts – 129 [14, tied with Richard Hidalgo]

Stolen Bases – 4

Caught Stealing – 6 [16, tied with eight others]

Average - .282 [Non-qualifying]

OBP - .358 [Non-qualifying]

Slugging Pct. - .550 [Non-qualifying]

Total Bases – 226

GDP – 9

Hit by Pitches – 10 [16, tied with Sean Casey & Lance Berkman]

Sac Hits – 5

Sac Flies – 5

Midseason snapshot: HR - 12, RBI – 39, AVG - .304, SLG - .642

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 5 AB) vs. Milwaukee 7/2, (in 5 AB) at Montreal 7/9, (in 6 AB) vs. San Francisco 8/11 – 11 innings, (in 4 AB) at St. Louis 8/22

Longest hitting streak – 5 games

Most HR, game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. San Diego 5/20, (in 4 AB) vs. Seattle 6/18, (in 5 AB) at Montreal 7/9

HR at home – 15

HR on road – 11

Multi-HR games – 3

Grand Slams – 1

Most RBIs, game – 8 vs. Milwaukee 7/2

Pinch-hitting – 0 of 5 (.000) with 1 R

Fielding

Chances – 216

Put Outs – 211

Assists – 3

Errors – 2

DPs - 0

Pct. - .991

Awards & Honors:

NL Rookie of the Year: BBWAA

NL ROY Voting (Top 5):

Jason Bay, Pitt.: 146 pts. – 25 of 32 first place votes, 91% share

Khalil Greene, SD.: 108 pts. – 7 first place votes, 68% share

Akinori Otsuka, SD.: 23 pts. – 14% share

Aaron Miles, Col.: 6 pts. – 4% share

Matt Holliday, Col.: 3 pts. – 2% share

Pirates went 72-89 to finish fifth in the NL Central Division, 32.5 games behind the division-winning St. Louis Cardinals while leading the league in triples (39)  and fewest bases on balls drawn (415).

Aftermath of 2004:

Bay followed up with another strong performance in 2005, batting .306 with 32 home runs and 101 RBIs and garnering selection to the All-Star Game. Another big season in 2006 (35 home runs, 109 RBIs, and a .286 batting average) was followed by a 2007 campaign in which Bay suffered through a major slump and saw his numbers drop to 21 home runs, 84 RBIs, and a .247 average. Midway through the 2008 season he was traded to the Boston Red Sox and over the course of 49 games slugged 9 home runs with 37 RBIs and batted .293, helping his new team to reach the playoffs where he continued to perform with distinction. Bay had a fine year for the Red Sox in 2009, hitting .267 with 36 home runs and 119 RBIs and returning to the All-Star Game. In the offseason he signed a four-year, $66 million free agent contract with the Mets. In his three injury-riddled seasons with the Mets Bay hit .234 with 26 home runs and 124 RBIs, which did not come close to meeting expectations. He was released by the Mets following the 2012 season and signed with the Seattle Mariners. He appeared in just 68 games in 2013 and underwhelmed with 11 home runs, 20 RBIs, and a .204 batting average. He retired having produced 222 home runs, 240 doubles, 95 stolen bases, and a .266 batting average over the course of his major league career. 151 doubles, 139 home runs, 50 stolen bases, 452 RBIs, and a .281 batting average were compiled with Pittsburgh. He also represented the Pirates in two All-Star Games.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were recipients of the Rookie of the Year Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1947 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1948 and from 1949 on to one recipient from each major league.