8
2012
From Left Field: Wishing Jason Bay The Best
An article by 
So the inevitable has occurred, albeit much later than originally expected: Jason Bay is no longer a New York Met.
I’m sure there is much joy about this decision in Mets nation and rightfully so. The Bay signing will go down as the worst free agent contract in Mets history.
That said, I’m wishing Bay the best of luck in resurrecting his career with another team, preferably in the American League.
I’ll be the first to admit that Bay’s time in New York was downright terrible. He played in less than 60 percent of the team’s games in the past three seasons, and he hit just .234 with 26 home runs and 124 RBI during that time.
However, it would be unfair to say that Bay merely gave up and collected his lucrative paycheck.
The reason Bay was constantly hurt was because he constantly put his body on the line defensively. On the plays he got hurt, there was really no reason for Bay to even be close to those balls, yet he hustled all the time in the outfield.
Of course, paying $16 million for a defensive specialist in the outfield is ludicrous, so once Bay continued to show that he was inept at the plate, his release was just a matter of time.
Everyone in the organization admired Bay for his work ethic despite the poor results. Unfortunately, this is a results-oriented business, so Bay had to go.
In the one time I met Bay at the Mets’ 2010 Holiday Party, you could see and hear his tone that he truly wanted to improve and make an impact on this team, and that was only after his first poor season.
Some players will just shrug off a slump and not let it affect them, but Bay was different in that regard.
You almost have to feel bad for the guy, since it looked like he forgot how to hit. Here’s a guy who was a Rookie of the Year and three-time All-Star. You don’t just forget how to hit with that sort of resume.
Maybe the pressure of playing in New York got to him, or maybe the injuries really messed him up more than we all originally thought.
Either way, I admire Bay for realizing that his time in New York was finished even with one year remaining on his contract. It was a mutual decision for the Mets and Bay to part ways.
He could have been stubborn and looked to the fact that he signed a four-year contract and that’s where he would be for those four years, regardless of the lack of production.
But instead, Bay did the right thing for the team.
I hope Bay gets another chance somewhere, even if it’s on a minor-league deal. Let’s be honest, at age 34 he’ll never regain the form of his Pittsburgh and Boston days. But maybe he can be a productive pinch hitter and fourth outfielder.
So to reiterate, I was thoroughly disgusted by Bay’s on-field performance these past three seasons, and he was enormous financial drain. But as a man, I admire Bay for not giving up sooner than he did.
I hope Mets fans can agree with this.
About the Author: Jim Mancari
Jim Mancari hails from Massapequa, N.Y. He recently earned a Master's degree in Journalism at Hofstra University. He is a devout Mets fan and takes pride in his team, despite their lack of success over the last few years. Like all Mets fans, Jim has plenty of hope. He also writes as the sports reporter for the Brooklyn Tablet newspaper and the senior editor of metroBASEBALL Magazine. Click my name to view my personal website.
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he was a pain in the ass, financial seen , but sure he is a good guy, i wish him the best . He should play the game he loves as long as possible .
Jason bay was the complete antithesis of Perez and Castillo,
They simply gave up while Jason tried about as hard as anyone but just couldn’t get the results.
I will root for him wherever he goes and would not be upset if he wins a batting title or gets a WS ring after leaving because the player as a person is precisely what you want on your roster…
It just never seemed to translate to the performance but the effort and attitude was always solid.
I wish the guy the best.
I don’t think Castillo gave up. His body, perhaps, but not the man himself.
I wanted him cut just like everyone else, but I never liked all the comments and stuff that got thrown around when it finally happened. Being bad at baseball does not make someone a bad person.
Prior to 2011 Spring training, I heard all the stories about how hard he was working, what a good clubhouse guy he was, how he was mentoring younger guys. It made him seem like a guy who just wanted to contribute as best he could.
Exactly how did Castillo “give up”?
I’ll reply to you to answer both….
Castillo gave up only in ST the year he got cut.
He got frustrated and complained and even demanded to be cut to get the hell out.
I agree though that Castillo got a bad rap here and from the media/fanbase.
He was not as awful as people made him out to be.
He got caught up in the same rage that made people want to see Beltran, Reyes and anyone else from the 2006-2007 team sent packing…
He wasn’t even a money drain on the team at only 8 Mil per yet many here tried to suggest his signing was a typical high price low return example of BAD SPENDING practices by Omar…
Yet he made only 2 Mil more than Francisco who was clearly not even worth his 6 Mil.
Yeah I wish him the best healthwise, but I wish him the worst financially. I hope he somehow loses every penny of that $69 million he robbed from us. I hope he takes a huge financial tumble and loses everything. He set this team back five years. I wish him the same thing.
Well Maniac it’s not reall Bay’s fault that he somehow became a free agent ina very weak year for Free Agency and got offerred the top dollar merely because he got into the right market to get overpaid….
I can’t really blame Bay for what he got I blame Omar (in this one case) for being in a position of having to MAKE a deal for something and having to do it in such a weak market where bust was very likely and even if Bay did what was expected was still not anywhere near worth the money he got.
Thats the real problem with his deal, even if he did what was expected he still got paid more than he would have if there was a Pujols or Beltran available in FA at the time.
Omar just made the mistake in buying in a market where supply was low, demand was high and in those cases you almost always overpay.
He would have been better off trading for Salary to get what he wanted in that market.
It’s guys like you that give Met fans a bad name. Jason Bay busted his butt for this team and most fans recognized this despite wanting him to be released. You rant like he stopped trying at all to get himself straightened out and that is ridiculous. His attitude and work ethic were great but the results were not. He did not have to agree to this deal and most fans hope he finds himself again as long as it is not while playing against the Mets.
The money he was paid was not yours!
Wishing him financial disaster shows that you are a nasty SOB
Go root for the Yankees!
I agree 100%. If just effort = performance, then Bay would be an all-star. Shame it didn’t work out. I wish him well. Classy guy in a sport where there are few to be found. All the best, Jason.