Each day during spring training, Bradenton Herald staff writers will catch up with a Pirates or Rays player for a quick glimpse of things you might not know, and some things you won't find on the back of a baseball card.
Name: Jason Bay.
Position: Left fielder.
Years with team: Five.
MLB experience: Four years, 80 days.
Stats last season: .247 BA, 21 HR, 84 RBI, 78 R.
Height: 6-2.
Weight: 205.
Date of birth: Sept. 20, 1978 in Trail, British Columbia, Canada.
Childhood Hero: Eric Davis, Cincinnati Reds OF.
Hobbies interests: “I have a 15-month-old daughter, and she takes up a lot of my time,” Bay said. “I enjoy surfing the Internet and having the occasional glass of wine.”
Nickname: Jay Bay - “Pretty boring, but that’s been it.”
Favorite movies: Count of Monte Cristo and Gladiator.
On iPod: Everything. “I’m a big 80s guy, but I get a little country and rap on there, too.”
Favorite TV show: Entourage.
Favorite pre-game meal: Granola bar. “I can’t play on a full stomach.”
First baseball memory: “When I was 8 years old going up the Little League park. I remember there was a fence you could never get the ball over. You could roll it there. But I got one out one time. I’ll never forget that.”
Baseball superstitions: More routines than superstitions, he said. “I do the same thing on deck every time. I wear the same undershirt the entire year. It gets washed.”
First job: Paper boy.
Most painful memory or moment: Tore up his ankle rounding first base when he was 16. “That was physically and emotionally painful looking down at that.”
Funniest teammate: Freddy Sanchez. “He’s the funniest guy ever.”
First car: 1983 Honda Prelude.
Ballplayers you’d like to meet past or present: “It would be Roberto Clemente because he played here (in Pittsburgh) and you kind of hear a lot about him.”
Favorite athlete in any sport to watch: “I’m from Canada, so I’m a big hockey guy. (Pittsburg Penguins center ) Sidney Crosby. And (Alexander) Ovechkin from the Washington Capitals is pretty fun to watch."
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