Boston Globe Staff / August 2, 2008
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/
Don't look now but there's a Monster behind Jason Bay. Boston's new left fielder acquitted himself quite nicely in his debut, playing several balls off the Wall and even making a nice sliding catch. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff)Yes, he plays left field. Yes, he's a righthanded batter. And yes, he is hitting in the middle of the Red Sox order. But any comparisons with Manny Ramírez can end there, thank you very much.
Newcomer Jason Bay, acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at Thursday's trade deadline, plans to carve out his own niche in a Boston uniform. Last night against the Oakland A's at Fenway Park, manager Terry Francona put Bay in the No. 5 spot, behind third baseman Mike Lowell.
"It's inevitable," said Bay when asked about being sized up against Ramírez. "I know that. But I got traded to Pittsburgh [from San Diego] for Brian Giles, in essence [in 2003], and once again, it wasn't quite the grand scale of this one but it's something I can't control. I'm not going to be Manny Ramírez, I know that. I'm going to try to do what I can do. Kind of going through what I've gone through, I think I'm equipped to handle that. You've got to go out and play the game. I understand that that stuff is out there, but that's beyond my control."
Bay received a warm welcome when he landed at Logan Airport yesterday, saying numerous people tried to help him with his baggage.
"It was actually very, very . . . overwhelming, really," he said. "It's going to be something I'll probably never forget, that's for sure. I can't wait. Everyone says the best fans in baseball are here, and I can't wait to be a part of the home team."
Jason Bay is congratulated by teammates after scoring on a sacrifice fly by Jed Lowrie against the Oakland Athletics in the second inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, Friday, Aug. 1, 2008.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
The wait was worth it as Bay received a sustained standing ovation when he came to bat for the first time with the Sox, and applause throughout the plate appearance as he drew a second-inning walk. He scored his first Boston run on a J.D. Drew double and a Jed Lowrie sacrifice fly. And the hosannas reached a crescendo in the 12th, when Bay tripled to center and scored on Lowrie's infield single, giving the Sox a 2-1 triumph.
Bay, who went 1 for 3 and scored twice, joked that the only thing better would've been if the ball made it out of the park, but he was grateful for the triple.
"If it had been a double, I don't know if I would've scored on that ball," said Bay, referring to Lowrie's hit. "When it left the bat [I thought it had a chance to be a home run], but then it started drifting on me a little more toward center field. So we'll take what we can get. That would've been something else."
He said the last couple of days have been a whirlwind with everything that has happened to him. He was just happy to have the game under his belt and have it come out a victory.
"Hopefully, we can do it in nine next time," he said. "But that was fun. It's definitely one of the better moments I've had."
After his introductory walk in the second, Bay was hit by a Justin Duchscherer pitch in the fourth and struck out swinging in the sixth and eighth. He walked in the 10th.
In the field, Bay was solid. With two out in the fifth, he saved a run when he made a sliding catch on Ryan Sweeney, stranding a runner at third. In the ninth, he made a catch on a sinking line drive by Daric Barton to end the inning.
Boston Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay, who was part of a three team trade that included the departure of Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox, steps onto the field for the first time in a Red Sox uniform, prior to facing the Oakland Athletics during batting practice prior to their MLB baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, Friday Aug. 1, 2008.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
It hasn't really sunk in that he's joined a team widely considered one of the top contenders for the world championship.
"Pack a bag, get on a flight, get here, meet the entire team and an entire staff, and then go out there and play a game and all of a sudden just have it click that you've been [deposited] in the middle of a pennant race and you have a chance to win a ring," said Bay.
"I don't think it's going to resonate that quick. I think I might need a day or two to let it sink in. I fully intend to let it sink in."
Bay, who hit .282 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in 106 games with the Pirates, selected No. 44. There weren't a whole lot of choices.
"It was slim pickings when it came down to the numbers," he said. "Eric Davis was a childhood idol of mine and he wore No. 44, so why not?"
Bay, a native of Trail, British Columbia, whose father was a diehard Red Sox fan (Bay mentioned he still has a Red Sox onesie he wore as a baby), found out he was changing addresses about a half-hour after the 4 p.m. deadline. So instead of getting on a bus with his teammates to go to the airport for a trip to Chicago, he was rerouted here.
"It was pretty exciting," said Bay. "I just went home and packed my bag and got here at 1 o'clock."
For a while after the deadline, Bay thought he was staying put. There were myriad rumors, but he didn't think they'd turn into anything because he hadn't heard anything concrete.
"My head was spinning," he said. "My name was everywhere and the deadline passed and I thought, 'All that and nothing.' All of a sudden, a half-hour after the deadline, I get called into the office and they say, 'You've been traded.' If I was a free agent, I couldn't have picked a better place to go to, I don't think."
Jason Bay, right, crosses home plate as Oakland Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki looks down the first base line, to see Jed Lowrie beat the throw for a game-winning RBI single in the 12th inning of a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston, Friday, Aug. 1, 2008. The Red Sox beat the Athletics 2-1.(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Bay faced the Red Sox during interleague play in 2005, and when he came to town with the Pirates, there was one thing he noticed above all.
"It's actually stupid, but I remember the stands singing 'Sweet Caroline,' " he said. "I thought that was kind of neat, just the way everyone got into the game."
General manager Theo Epstein believes Bay will be energized by his Boston opportunity.
"The nice thing about Bay's makeup is he knows who he is and he doesn't try to be more than that," said Epstein. "He's very comfortable with who he is as a person. He's not going to put on airs or try to change the way he plays the game, the way he acts, just because he's in a different environment.
"He's not an immature kid who is still searching for his place on a roster or his place in the world.
"There are no guarantees any time a player changes environments. There are no guarantees over a small sample size of a couple of months. But we feel like if anyone can come and step in and contribute to a winning club in this environment, Bay has the opportunity to do that."
Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.
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