Outfielder Jason Bay, from Trail B. C was one of four people inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys last Saturday.
Bay launched his career by becoming the only Canadian to ever win National League Rookie of the Year honour. He played for several teams in his 11-year career. He says being inducted into the Hall of Fame brought back several memories. But he adds, looking back his greatest achievement was probably making it to the big leagues and staying for eleven years.
He says by all accounts, he was a rarity when you look at the numbers.
“By all accounts, I was a statistic that probably never should have happened. Just looking at the pure numbers game of who makes it to the major leagues and then who stays and, I was a 22nd round draft pick and then traded a couple of times in the minor leagues, just kind of scratching and clawing everywhere and then to carve out a ten-plus year major league career.”
Bay says he was surprised and humbled when he got the call telling him he was being inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted last Saturday alongside Ryan Dempster, Rob Thomson and Gord Ash.