Jason Bay

Jason Raymond Bay is a Canadian-American professional baseball player who is currently a free agent. He last played for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 2009 season. Bay was born in Trail, British Columbia on September 20, 1978.

Bay made his Major League debut on May 2003 with the San Diego Padres. He was traded that season to the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he would stay until the 2008 season, becoming the NL Rookie of the Year in 2004 as a Pirate and an All-Star twice, in 2005 and 2006.

In 2008, Bay was dealt to the Boston Red Sox in a three-team deal. He had a productive season playing in Fenway Park, earning his third All-Star nomination for his second year as a Red Sox while earning his first Silver Slugger Award. He was named #41 on The Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. He filed for free agency on November 5, 2009.

Bay experienced success as a player very early, playing on a Trail team that reached the 1990 Little League World Series. In 1999 he played for the Chatham Athletics in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 22nd round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft from Gonzaga University and was assigned to the Expos' Short-Season A team in Burlington, Vermont (The Vermont Expos). In 2001, Bay was assigned to the Expos' High Single-A team in Jupiter. He began the year slowly, and in May he was moved to Clinton of the Midwest League. Bay reached base in his first 26 games, then went on to hit .362 and win the league batting title. In all, he batted .315 with 14 homers and 75 RBIs on the year. He was dealt to the New York Mets on March 24, 2002, for Lou Collier. The Mets dealt him to the San Diego Padres for Jason Middlebrook at the 2002 trading deadline. He debuted with the Padres on May 23, 2003, getting his first major league hit, a home run, in the 9th inning. Two days later, he suffered a broken right wrist after a hit by pitch.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On August 26, 2003, Bay was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates, along with Óliver Pérez and Cory Stewart in August in exchange for Brian Giles. He finished the season with a .287 batting average, four home runs, and 14 RBI in 30 games. Bay began the 2004 season on the disabled list due to surgery during the off-season, and did not join the team until May. Despite missing the beginning of the season, he still produced the best offensive numbers of any National League rookie. He hit .282 in 120 games, leading all major league rookies in home runs (26) and RBIs (82). He also led all NL rookies in slugging percentage (.550), extra base hits (54) and total bases (226). With his 26 home runs, Bay broke a Pirates rookies record of 23 set by Johnny Rizzo in 1936 and matched by Ralph Kiner in 1946. Selected the NL Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News, Bay was the third Pittsburgh player honored with the award, after second baseman Johnny Ray (1982) and catcher Jason Kendall. Bay was also the first Canadian player to win the award.

In 2005, Bay was selected to his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game as a reserve outfielder. For three home games he was subbed in as a catcher but that was a short career for the young Bay. He was the only player on either roster not to appear in the game at all. Bay also appeared in the 2005 Century 21 Home Run Derby, representing Canada in the nationality-themed contest; he was eliminated in the first round after hitting no home runs. Bay finished the season with a .306 average, 32 home runs, and 101 RBI, leading the Pirates in every major hitting category.

Through the 2006 season, Bay was a career .292 hitter with 97 home runs and 306 RBI in 471 games over three seasons. Bay enjoyed an exceptional May of the 2006, when he hit .321 with 12 home runs (a Pirate record for home runs in a month) and 35 runs batted in. From May 22 to May 28 he hit home runs in six consecutive games, two short of the major league record held by Dale Long, Don Mattingly, and Ken Griffey, Jr. He had actually hit 10 home runs in ten games, but he had failed to hit a home run in one of the games (and hit two the next day).

Following an aggressive Public Relations campaign by the Pirates in 2006, Jason Bay led all National League outfielders in All-Star voting. Pearl Jam lead singer Eddie Vedder even urged fans to vote for Bay during a summer concert at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena. Bay became the first member of the Pittsburgh Pirates voted into the All-Star game as a starter since Andy Van Slyke. In the game, Bay went 1 for 3, with a single. After battling injuries, Bay's 2007 season was less productive. Despite having a strong first couple of months, he hit .247 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI. Bay had a much more productive 2008 with Pittsburgh, hitting .282 with 22 home runs and 64 runs batted in through the All Star break. In a May series against the Chicago Cubs, Bay had extra-inning walk-off hits in back-to-back games; the first two walk-off hits of his career. A month later, he got his third walk-off hit of the season and his career with a 13th-inning solo home run against the Tampa Bay Rays.


Boston Red Sox

On July 31, 2008, Bay and Josh Wilson were traded to the Boston Red Sox in a three team deal that sent Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Andy LaRoche with Bryan Morris to the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Dodgers and Brandon Moss with Craig Hansen to the Pirates from the Red Sox.

In his Red Sox debut, Bay scored both runs, the second coming after he hit a triple in bottom of the 12th inning and thus winning the game on a Jed Lowrie RBI infield single. The Red Sox snapped a three-game losing streak with the 2-1 victory over the visiting Oakland A's. In his second game he hit a 3-run home run in the first inning. On August 18th Jason Bay homered off of Jeremy Guthrie twice and had four RBI against the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox won 6-3. On August 26th Jason Bay played the Yankees the first time in a Red Sox uniform, Bay went 2-For-4 with two RBIs and a run, and a 7-3 victory over the Yankees. The Red Sox won the first out of three remaining games the Red Sox play at Yankee Stadium. Later that month, when the Red Sox traveled to Tropicana Field to play the Tampa Bay Rays, they had a veritable home run derby on September 15; Jason Bay went 1-for-4 with an RBI and his 8th home run as a Red Sox player, and the 30th of the season, as the Sox beat the Rays 13-5.

The Sox' 2008 American League Division Series against the Anaheim Angels was the first playoff series of Bay's career. Bay hit a home run in each of the first two games of the series; in Game 2, on October 3, 2008, Bay hit a 3-run homer to give Boston an early 4-0 lead. On October 6, in Game 4, Bay scored the walkoff run to break a tie game on a single by Jed Lowrie in the bottom of the 9th. The win clinched the Sox a berth in the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Bay finished the series batting 7 for 17 (.412), with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 5 RBIs.

In the early 2009 season, Bay became known for coming through in clutch situations within the late innings of games. He would often start rallies, hit needed RBIs, or game changing home runs. He currently leads the Red Sox in home runs, hitting 20 as of July 7th. Until his May 27th homer he had a streak of 11 home runs with men on base, which tied a team record and was one less than the all-time Major League record of 12. And has the record for most rbi with 79.

In 2009 he was named # 41 on the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball. Bay was elected to the 2009 All Star Game on July 5th, 2009.


New York Mets

On December 29, Bay reportedly agreed to a deal with the New York Mets, pending a physical. The deal is reportedly worth about $66 million over four years plus a vesting option for a fifth year.

Bay and his wife, Kristen, have two daughters; Addison, who was born on November 19, 2006, in Pittsburgh, and Evelyn, who was born on September 16, 2008, in Boston.

Bay's sister, Lauren Bay Regula, is a professional softball player who pitched for Canada in the 2004 Olympics, and was on the 2008 Olympic team as well.

Bay remains friends with Edmonton Oilers center Shawn Horcoff, who was also born in Trail. He is close friends with Cleveland Indians center fielder Grady Sizemore, who was also a groomsman at Bay's wedding.

In Bay's opening interview with the Boston media, he stated that his father was a die-hard Red Sox fan who had bought him a Red Sox onesie to wear when he was young. Bay believed it was still in his parents' basement along with his two childhood TV room posters of Red Sox greats Jim Rice and Carl Yastrzemski.

On Thursday, July 2, 2009, Bay became a U.S. citizen after a ceremony at Faneuil Hall in Boston. During the off season Bay resides in his wife's hometown of Seattle.