Jason Raymond Bay, aka Jay Ray Bay, (born September 20, 1978 in Trail, British Columbia, Canada) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Boston Red Sox.

In his young major league career, Bay has demonstrated well above average power to all fields. He has also shown good discipline at the plate — in 2005, he ranked in the top ten in the National League in walks —On the bases, although he is not exceptionally fast, Bay is a very effective basestealer; in 2005, until he was picked off in the last week of the season, he had tied the major league record for most steals in a season without getting caught (21). Defensively, Bay was adept at handling the large outfield in Pittsburgh’s PNC Park and is a dependable fielder. Through 2008, he has made only eighteen errors in 6283.2 innings in left field (.986 fielding percentage).

Bay experienced success as a player very early, playing on a Trail team that reached the 1990 Little League World Series. In 1999 he played for the Chatham Athletics in the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 22nd round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft from Gonzaga University and was assigned to the Expo’s Short-Season A team in Burlington, Vermont (The Vermont Expos). In 2001, Bay moved to Clinton of the Midwest League. Bay reached base in his first 26 games, then went on to hit .362 and win the league batting title. In all, he batted .315 with 14 homers and 75 RBI on the year. He was dealt to the New York Mets on March 24, 2002, for Lou Collier. The Mets dealt him to the San Diego Padres for Steve Reed at the 2002 trading deadline. He debuted with the Padres on May 23, 2003, getting his first major league hit, a home run, in the 9th inning.

On August 26, 2003, Bay was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates. He finished the season with a .287 batting average, four home runs, and 14 RBI in 30 games.

Despite missing the beginning of the 2004 season due to injury, he still produced the best offensive numbers of any National League rookie. He hit .282 in 120 games, leading all major league rookies in home runs (26) and RBI (82). He also led all NL rookies in slugging percentage (.550), extra base hits (54) and total bases (226). In 2005, Bay was selected to his first Major League Baseball All-Star Game as a reserve outfielder. Bay finished the season with a .306 average, 32 home runs, and 101 RBI, leading the Pirates in every major hitting category.

Through the 2006 season, Bay was a career .292 hitter with 97 home runs and 306 RBI in 471 games over three seasons. In 2006, Jason Bay led all National League outfielders in All-Star voting. After battling injuries, Bay’s 2007 season was less productive, hitting .247 with 21 home runs and 84 RBI.

Bay had a much more productive 2008, hitting .282 with 22 home runs and 64 runs batted in through the All Star break. On July 31, 2008, Bay was traded to the Boston Red Sox. In his Red Sox debut, Bay scored both runs, the second coming after he hit a triple in bottom of the 12th inning and thus winning the game on a Jed Lowrie RBI infield single.

The Sox’ 2008 American League Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim was the first playoff series of Bay’s career. Bay hit a home run in each of the first two games of the series. Bay finished the series batting 7 for 17 (.412), with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, and 5 RBIs.

Bay and his wife, Kristen, have two daughters, Addison, who was born on November 19, 2006 in Pittsburgh, and Evelyn, who was born on September 16, 2008 in Boston.

Awards and Distinctions:
Three-time NL Rookie of the Month (June, July and September, 2004)
National League Rookie of the Year (2004)
The Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year (2004)
Tip O’Neill Award winner (2004 and 2005) - given to the top Canadian baseball player each season.
National League All-Star (2005, 2006)
Represented Canada at the World Baseball Classic
Represented Canada in the 1990 Little League World Series