Jason Bay for Rookie of the Year

The Pirates are seeking the attention of the people who actually do the voting.

Yes, this is a biassed site, but it's been clear to us that Bay has been an extraordinarily special rookie since he came back from his shoulder injury and joined the club in May.

He shot out of the gate at a steady 900+ OPS clip. His early struggles were strictly confined to one or two games. There have been no long Jason Bay slumps.

By early July, it was clear to this fan that Bay had emerged as the best player on the team. How many rookies do that on any team? The Rookie of the Year talk was going strong by July 2.

Big-game Bay responded to the early attention by singlehandedly winning not one game at a time but a game and a half at a time. Jason Bay showed that rare ability to command a game and win it single-handedly. We could only scratch our heads as national writers talked about two relievers - Atinori Otsuka and Ryan Madson, and "Alligator Arms" Matsui, a player with obvious flaws in his game. Even Pittsburgh's local sports curmudgeon, the ever-impossible-to-impress Bob Smizik, insisted Bay was no Kiner but remained a likely Rookie of the Year winner. Now that Bay is poised to tie and surpass Kiner's record for home runs as a rookie, perhaps we can begin to compare Bay's rookie year to Kiner's without much exaggeration or embellishment. Pirate fans looking for a new and long-term fixture with the club could see Bay as the rookie fans dream about as early as July 26. Even the Canadians were getting excited about the guy.

Throughout August it looked that Bay would cruise to the title. He certainly played like he deserved it and he did this consistently and, at times, dramatically. He won over Pittsburgh, charming the homers first and then even the Smiziks. The Canadians recognized the success of their son. The buzz was spreading. All that remained were the national writers. Then we hear that Khalil Greene had surged to the front, on the basis of good defense - Bay himself plays outstanding defense and should move to center next year - and some recent hot hitting - nevermind that Bay's been hitting like Kiner since he started the season.

I understand if fans of the game at the national level want to watch games with playoff ramifications, but it would sting to see Bay lose the award to a less consistent and less deserving player who occupies a less important role on another team.

Look at Bay's splits. We see only consistency and excellence. Look at the big games. He won the Rookie of the Month award in June and July, and his August performance was just as good, especially when you consider that much of the team looked tired in August and didn't provide the same kind of run-producing opportunities Bay had in his award-winning months. (In June, Bay's 18 hits generated 14 runs and 17 RBI; in July, his 27 hits generated 13 runs and 20 RBI; in August, his 27 hits generated 13 runs and 15 RBI.) Bay has been no one-month wonder. He's a full-season wonder.

Khalil Greene has had a great rookie season, but there's no way that his entire season matches up, across the board, with Bay's. He hasn't hit as well and he hasn't been nearly as consistent. He spent most of the seasons batting eighth. Why this may make his batting numbers a bit more impressive, it also indicates that he was surrounded by a much stronger supporting cast than Bay. Bay has taken over his team and now represents, in the minds of the fans, the hope and future of the franchise. There is greatness and there is Greatness and it's pretty clear to this party that Bay has shown much of the unusual variety as he has paced this club through a difficult and often disappointing rebuilding year.

The season is not over yet, but Bay's consistent record makes me confident that he won't tank and post a .521 OPS as teams continue to focus on him as a big-time player. A little more pressure will not faze this guy. To those of you who haven't seen him play and haven't been paying attention, it's not too late to see this Greatness for yourself.