Jason Bay, who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2004, has been named to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bay, who also played for the Padres, Red Sox, Mets and Mariners, was selected on Tuesday along with pitcher Ryan Dempster, coach Rob Thomson and executive Gord Ash.
“It was a very pleasant and somewhat unexpected surprise to get that call from the Canadian Hall of Fame,” Bay said on a conference call. “I’m proud and honored to be recognized with great people who have helped build baseball in Canada in various ways, to the elite level it has become.”
In Pittsburgh, Bay led all Major League rookies in home runs and RBIs to be named only the second Pirate for the National League Rookie of the Year, along with Johnny Ray in 1982.
A native of Trail, British Columbia, Bay was selected to three all-star games over the course of his 11-year career.
With 222 home runs, he has the fifth-most of any Canadian Major Leaguer.
The induction ceremony will take place on June 15 at the Hall of Fame grounds in St. Mary’s, Ontario.
