16
2012
MMO Fan Shot: Closing The Book On Jason Bay
An article by 
For the first six years of his baseball career, Jason Bay was one of the game’s up-and-coming stars. He toiled in relative obscurity, first with the San Diego Padres and then with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where his tenacious, hard-slugging style of play caught the attention of baseball fans everywhere.
After a two-season stretch with the Boston Red Sox, Bay reached the pinnacle of his career. He was able to test the free-agent market for the first time. Suitors lined up around the block. Bay knew his career would take him someplace special. It did, as Bay signed a lucrative four-year contract worth $66 million with the New York Mets before the 2010 season started.
How the Mets wish they could have that time back. From the minute Bay set foot in the Big Apple, he felt pressure to produce with that fat contract hanging from his neck like an albatross. It made for some uncomfortable times as frustrated Mets fans quickly realized they had been sold a bill of goods. This month, Bay and the Mets came to the same conclusion. He had underproduced, and the Mets wanted him out of town.
Bay will be paid the full $21 million he is owed on the contract, and the $15 million that is deferred money will come to him before the end of 2015. He certainly doesn’t leave New York a pauper. One of the nice things (for the players, anyway) about guaranteed contracts in Major League Baseball is that teams often have to pay every cent themselves, unless other teams agree to pick up salary in a trade. With the termination agreement, Bay becomes an immediate free agent and can test the market again, presumably with a smaller, incentive-loaded deal coming to mind.
So where did it go horribly wrong for Bay? His loss means fans can go to a Mets game and figure out Where to Park in NYC without worrying about watching an overpriced slugger throw away $21 million. Heck, Mets fans say, the Yankees do that with Alex Rodriguez in one year!
In Bay’s defense the bat that produced back-to-back 30-homer seasons with Pittsburgh in 2005 and 2006, plus another pair of 30-homer seasons in 2008 with Pittsburgh and the Boston Red Sox in 2009, may have been compromised by his hard, gritty style of play.
A concussion in 2010 limited Bay to 95 games, and rib injuries each of the past two seasons hampered Bay’s ability to swing the ball. He hit 26 home runs over his three seasons in New York, with his best campaign in 2011 when he hit 12 home runs and drove in 57. Citi Field is not a strong home-run hitting park either, and Citi’s dimensions were changed following the 2011 season to reflect that.
His past history will get Bay some free-agent looks. The consensus is this market is not really good and teams always can use help when it comes to power bats. Boston has been mentioned as a destination for Bay once again, especially with the mass housecleaning the Red Sox had this summer and fall. Because his price is likely to fall big time, smaller-spending teams like the Cleveland Indians are on his list. Supposedly, Bay loved playing under former Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who is now in Cleveland.
Jason Bay may not get another $66 million deal anytime soon, but a solid season could parlay into a better deal down the road. For now, the book closes on the Mets and an uncertain future lies ahead.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
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Well written piece. You hate to see the fall happen to such a committed and hard-working player as Jason Bay. To me he reminds me of that awesome co-worker that doesn’t quite pull his weight anymore. (We all have had one of those at our job.) Everyone in the office loves the guy and respects his knowledge and experience but also realizes that things are changing and that guy has lost a step because he isn’t quite up to date on the changes (whether they be technology, processes, etc.)
Some people might even try to cover up for the guy knowing that when the next round of layoffs are going to come that he’s the one that’s going to get let go. However, when that day comes and that co-worker does get laid off, everyone is sad and wishes him well but life goes on and things on the job get easier since the weakest link is no longer there. Sometimes the laid off co-worker is even grateful for the time off to reflect. I feel like this is the situation the Mets were in with Jason Bay and as a Met fan I wish him nothing but the best of luck in the future.
Would we have been better off trading him to Seattle for Chone Figgins ?
I’m sorry but i don’t want to hear how nice a guy Jason Bay is anymore and I’m one of the guys that stood in his corner a long time, too long. Fact is he took the money. No different than other underperforming Mets like Pedro Martinez, Ollie Perez, and other players on other teams. They take the money with nary a thought of giving anything back.
Anyone ever hear of Lyman Bostock, deceased outfielder who played for Minnesota, became free agent and signed with Angels? After signing a new contract and getting off to a terrible start this is what he did:
Bostock had earned $20,000 in his final year with Minnesota. He signed a five-year, $2.5 million pact with California, a fabulous contract at the time, particularly for a man who had never lived extravagantly.
Bostock’s play was horrendous during his first month with the Angels. He batted .167 in April, his swing so out of whack that he had begun pumping his leg – as Puckett would later, but the difference was Bostock did it because he was such a mess he couldn’t find his timing.
Donates his salary
When April of ’78 ended Bostock told Angels’ owner Gene Autry to take back his salary. He hadn’t earned it. Autry refused, so Bostock proceeded with detective work to determine which charities should receive his salary. “You gotta discern the needy from the greedy,” he explained. He also insisted this was a one-time donation — the Bostock family would be the future beneficiaries.
After his act of charity, Bostock’s batting improved quickly, and in June he went 44-for-109 – a .404 clip
http://www.cooloftheevening.com/minnesota_twins_deaths.htm
So I don’t want to hear how much Jason Bay hustled (and he did) or how nice he is. What about giving some of that money back to a hurting franchise. If more ballplayers did that maybe prices wouldn’t be so high at the park.
I really don’t get the affection of som mets fans either… Jose reyes was a nice guy too, he was a hell of a NY city role model. never got in trouble, donates tons of money to needed kids in DR for schools and hospitals out there.. Same with carlos beltran who’s wife is involved in many charities in PR and even in NY. yet i can’t hardly remember any article or people calling team nice guys… Jason bay was assumed to be a nice guy because of his soft spoken voice and good well spoken english, how about providing actual things he did to make us believe he was a nice guy? A nice guy or a great teammate would’ve said, go sign reyes and somehow defer my contract until i get better or something.. He’s just another greedy ballplayer who got release and took all his money with him.. Good guy my ass… You know who hustle all the time too? Luis Castillo, yet he was perceived as the devil by mets fans. The double standard and side taking it’s pathetic… Jason Bay was the biggest POMFS as a player i’ve seen in a mets uniform as a FA and it’s not even close.. Good guy comments towards him are just that, comments, but not because we know he’s a nice guy, just because we assume he is… F___ JASON BAY!!!!!!!!!! Good riddance and if we never hear from him in this blog the better…
You just pointed at the MOTHER of all double standards!
Luis Castillo ran hard and hustled ALL the time and the Mets even got a little something out of his contract. He was no where near as much as a flop as Jason Bay.
Yet Jason Bay who was a hundred times worse as a bust gets lauded as a nice guy and he hustled. Luis Castillo was also a VERY nice guy by all accounts as well and he hustled.
That is the ultimate double standard and a clear case of it too.
Castillo hustled all the time. REALLY? Castillo was a nice guy. REALLY? I loved Castillo’s game when he was a young man but he was always somewhat dour especailly as he got older. He absolutely loafed quite often. That was one of the gripes many had about him. The fact that he bunted or tried to walk nearly every at bat also drove me nuts.
so wait…ur saying that castillo bunted for base-hits…and showed plate discipline…
and somehow these are examples of him being lazy
lmao
and as far as his “attitude”…he played in pain…without complaining…and helped mentor tejada at 2B in 2010 while he was on the bench…
Justin Turner
Daniel Murphy
Jose Reyes
Ruben Tejada
Carlos Beltran
Castillo’s ex-teammates in FL + Minny
all these folks came to his defense when the press was trying to make Luis look like Jerry Sandusky…
but thats not enough to change your mind…
Castillo played in pain but forgot to smile
lol met fans
Bayonne, thanks for commenting and reading.. I did not want castillo here, but once we signed the guy i was all in. but once he started sucking bad and to some degree sulking the whole team along with him, i did not want the guy here any longer. but the man worked his butt off, he cared and hustled all the time.. But no, jason bay gets all the credit because even though he sucked horrible he hustle… You kinda wonder about mets fans and how they perceive a player based on how they look… It’s really sad and pathetic..
I’m one who liked Bay, you hear all the time about his hard work and stuff….I also believe that the Mets mishandled Bay and put the blame in Mets management for some of Bay’s issues here. I think their hitting philosophy in Bay’s first year messed up his approach and he spent too much time tinkering and trying to dig himself out of the hole. Last year, I saw some positive signs from him, but got hurt as soon as his timing down he got hurt…then the Mets in their wisdom, stuck Bay back into the lineup with no time in the minors to work out his timing…not once, but twice! The 2nd time was after a concussion and told Bay he’s got two weeks or he’s benched.
Anyways…even though I liked Bay, I’m glad he’s gone…it’s the best thing for him and for the Mets. But it is time to move on, but Mets fans love to pick at old wounds.
But I love the dbl standards…Beltran and Reyes are two of the best players the Mets have ever had and they constantly vilified.
Castillo was a good player whose knees gave out, but he hustled his ass off all the time…other than the length of the deal, it wasn’t that bad of a contract. Especially when he was the best option at 2nd (but even Omars 2nd choice) at a time that the Mets had nobody even close to play 2nd unless they wanted to resign Kaz.
Ollie…left a bad taste in my mouth and he’s probably more of a product of Boreass than anything else.
Brown people are too fast to hustle
Is it really closed though? Unlike Ollie & Castillo where Castillo was never heard from again in MLB and Ollie didn’t see the Majors again till this past season. I think we will see Bay find himself in some capacity on a major league team in 2013 and unless he continues to progress as he has as a Met I expect we will hear about him every time he hits a HR or has a good game which I would wager will soon be followed by posts titled “Did the Mets give up on Bay to soon?” So metaphorically speaking I get why as you wrote “the book closes on the Mets” for now but at the same time it really isn’t as well.
it really hasn’t as well.
Just like we heard about Francoeur every time he swung a bat for the first year or so after he left NY.
Are we forgeting that Castilo signed, almost immediately with the Phillies? Then he loafed in late to ST and was cut, then he was never heard from again.
Give money back?
Speaks good English?
Some of the comments on here lately are just mind boggling.
It’s called a contract for a reason.
The Mets lost out on value for the dollar for Bay’s contract, just like they made out like bandits on Dickey’s contract. It’s always the roll of the dice. You can look at a player’s stats, you can read the scouts analysis, but nothing is guaranteed going forward. It’s always an educated guess and a calculated risk.
http://www.cooloftheevening.com/minnesota_twins_deaths.htm
Sad story and a life cut way too short.
Bostock’s decision just proves that there’s always an exception to every rule. Nothing is absolute.
Expecting all ball players who don’t live up to their contract to ‘give back money’ though is just naive.
nobody is saying that so don’t be dumb. It’s just a nice human interest story and it would be nice if MORE ballplayers did this
Bay had a strong overall 2011 campaign? Huh? He had 109 hits not 109 runs and if you call a 245 BA and 374 Slug% with 12 HR and 57 RBI’s a solid year then Daniel Murphy looks like Rogers Hornsby at 2B.
The comments are astounding. Nice guy…who gives a crap. The on focus is on performance and his sucked. Attitude comes into play if a player negatively affects a team but if he produces enough, everyone can live with it (ala Manny being Manny). Bay gave the Mets nothing in return for the $66M. The Mets lost and it will continue to haunt them for another year or so. Omars gift that keeps on giving.
By the way, Alderson has to make 10 Pagan for Ramirez deals to equal up to the buffoonery of this one. There is a big difference about not harming the long term prospects of a team and totally handcuffing it.
Yeah especially when anything good about the roster today is largely due to Omar (Harvey, Ike Davis, Tejada, etc..and the minors). You’re so far off the mark you should be embarrassed. Yeah, real buffoonery in saying he has a 5 year plan and has the team in the post season in year 2.
Alderson and his crew of buffoons couldn’t sniff Omar’s ASS when it comes to recognizing talent and the Mets will NEVER reach the post season as long as guy is running the team. Can’t make a trade, want’s to lowball players and gives us one scrap heap signing after another. Another second guesser who spews a lot of hot air
2011…he sucked!!! Get your facts strait. 2011 was another crap year. There is no way he scored 109 runs!!! Whoever is in charge of editing at this site needs to be fired.
Whoever picks the fan shots needs to actually read them first!
“Nice guys finish last” … Leo Durocher