Pittsburgh hoping Bay doesn't get overlooked

PITTSBURGH -- Barry Bonds didn't win it. Neither did Roberto Clemente. Since the National League Rookie of the Year award was first handed out 57 years ago, the Pittsburgh Pirates have never had a winner.

Jason Bay, one of the few pleasant surprises during another mostly miserable Pirates season, hopes to change that despite a year that couldn't have started much worse.

When the Pirates broke from spring training in early April, Bay stayed behind in Bradenton, Fla., his surgically repaired right shoulder still not healed. The left fielder didn't play his first game until May 7, then needed frequent days off after returning to rest his shoulder.

Once he started playing regularly, even the Pirates had no idea what they would be getting.

His statistics -- .291 average, 26 homers, 82 RBIs in only 399 at- bats entering the final weekend of the season -- are far better than the Pirates envisioned. He wasn't considered the key player in the trade in which they acquired left-hander Oliver Perez from the Padres for outfielder Brian Giles 13 months ago, yet Bay's offensive year far surpasses that of any rookie in either league.

"He's blown every other rookie out of the water," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said.

Bay's RBIs are the most for a Pirates rookie in 64 years, or since Maurice Van Robays had 116 in 1940. Bay's defensive play also has been well above average, with only two errors all season.

Bay was considered a streak hitter while playing in three other minor league systems before joining the Pirates, and will end this season with only about 500 career at-bats. Yet he is doing numerous things that would excite any team, not just one enduring its 12th consecutive losing season.

Consider this: Bay already has two eight-RBI games, a statistic matched only by the Cubs' Nomar Garciaparra. Twice chosen as the NL rookie of the month, Bay hasn't had a month yet in which his numbers fluctuated greatly from the previous month. He has more homers than any NL rookie since Albert Pujols hit 37 for St. Louis in 2001.

His consistency and production are rare for a rookie and are among the reasons why the Pirates are lobbying hard for Bay. They began sending out e-mails with Bay updates -- called, appropriately enough, Baywatch -- as the end-of-season deadline for the Baseball Writers Association of America rookie of the year balloting approached.

Bay's prime opposition is, coincidentally, his former minor league roommate: San Diego shortstop Khalil Greene, who may be the NL's best defensive shortstop since Ozzie Smith.

Greene's numbers -- .273, 15 homers, 65 RBIs -- don't compare to Bay's but, unlike Bay, Greene played for a team that was in postseason contention. And while Bay was injured and out when the season started and thus doesn't have a full season's worth of numbers, Greene missed the final two weeks with a fractured finger.

San Diego's good season might be Bay's biggest obstacle toward winning an award that sometimes goes to the most valuable rookie rather than the best rookie.

"It would be an unbelievable accomplishment," said Bay, who grew up in Trail, British Columbia, a town better known for turning out hockey players than major leaguers. "But I'm not taking anything for granted. I haven't really worried about the awards, I've just tried to have a good season."

That doesn't mean Bay wouldn't like to win, especially after being with four organizations (Expos, Mets, Padres, Pirates) before becoming a major league regular at age 25.

"Sometimes my wife will see something about it on the Internet and I'll just say, 'I don't want to see it,' " said Bay, who turned 26 last week. "I just want to have a good year."

While others are pushing Greene for the award, McClendon will be very disappointed if Bay doesn't win. So will sister Lauren Bay, a pitcher for Canada's Olympic softball team.

"I don't see any way Jason can't win the award, and it would be a shame if he doesn't," McClendon said.

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