BAD MOVE: Mets sign Jason Bay to four-year deal

Posted on December 29, 2009

Jason Bay of the Boston Red Sox bats against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim during Game 2 of the American League Division Series at Angel Stadium on October 9, 2009 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

So much for baseball taking a break for the holidays! The New York Mets stepped up to the plate this afternoon and landed one of the biggest fishes in the 2009 free-agent pool by inking All-Star outfielder Jason Bay to a four-year deal worth $66 million with a vesting option for a fifth year.

Bay should send a large gift to Manny Ramirez once the ink dries on his new contract because if Manny wasn’t being Manny in July of 2008, causing the Red Sox to ship him off to the Dodgers, Bay would have never had the chance to star at Fenway Park where he played for the Red Sox for the past 1.5 seasons. Bay. who won the National League Rookie-of-the-Year Award in 2004 in Pittsburgh was going nowhere on a bad Pirates team. If he had stayed in Pittsburgh he would not be able to command half of his new salary with the Mets.

Bay enjoyed a fine season with the Red Sox in 2009 when he batted .267 to go along with 36 homers and 119 RBIs. The three-way trade between the Red Sox, Pirates and Dodgers that brought Bay to Boston in July of 2008 made Bay a fan-favorite in Boston. He got off to a nice start there and played a good left field at Fenway. Bay was able to keep a low profile in Boston because they had so many other high-profile stars on their team. He was able to keep his head down, mind his own business, and put up some nice numbers. Things will be different in New York. He will get eatin’ alive by the fans and the press if he gets off to a slow start. Mets fans have gone through Hell the past few seasons as the cross-town Yankees are coming off a World Series Championship. There will not be much patience in Queens.

I have not had the chance to photograph Bay very much during his career since the Pirates rarely made the trip out west to play the Giants (once a year) and he only came out here once with the Red Sox to play the A’s. I did get to shoot him twice in the playoffs against the Angels in Anaheim this past October as his club got swept in three games to the Halos. Bay has never been an exciting player to shoot. His facial expression never changes and he plays like a robot- very much like J.D. Drew.

Bay will start seeing what it is like being the center of attention on the first day he reports to Mets spring training camp in Port St. Lucie, Florida in February. The media will be all over him because he is the big-money free agent who is supposed to help save a team that last 92 games in 2009. There will be a ton of pressure on Bay. New York is not Pittsburgh, and I do not think Bay will ever be able to live up to his contract. Citi Field just about killed David Wright last season (10 homers for the entire season) and will shrink Bay’s numbers that were inflated by playing at Fenway. The Mets fans can be ruthless and will demand much production from their $66 million left fielder. Good luck.