Back To The Futile: Jason Bay

Last year, Adam Dunn had an historically bad season for the Chicago White Sox.  In 415 at-bats, Dunn batted .159 with 11 HR and 42 RBI, striking out 177 times.  It was the lowest batting average of any player in major league history with a minimum of 400 at-bats, breaking the record set by Rob Deer, who hit .179 in 1991 for the Detroit Tigers in 438 at-bats.

Over a century ago, in 1909, Bill Bergen of the Brooklyn Superbas (as the Dodgers were called back then) hit .139 in 346 at-bats.  This was nothing new for Bergen, who quite possibly was the worst hitter of any non-pitcher in history, batting .170 in 3,028 career at-bats for Cincinnati and Brooklyn from 1901 to 1911.

Why is this relevant to the Mets of today?  Because Jason Bay now has something to shoot for.

Jason Bay is looking down because that's where his batting average is.

Jason Bay came to New York after a year in which he hit 36 HR and drove in 119 runs for the Boston Red Sox.  He is now in the third year of a four-year contract.  He has yet to reach 36 HR and 119 RBI for the Mets.  I'm talking about cumulative here, as he only has 23 HR and 115 RBI in over 1,000 plate appearances for the Mets spanning 2½ seasons.

His power isn't the only attribute of his game that has faded over the years.  In his final season with the Red Sox, Bay batted .267.  That dropped to .259 in his first year with the Mets.  Last year, Bay's average fell to .245.  And this year?  Well, let's just say Bay's 2012 campaign has made Mario Mendoza look like Mr. Wade Boggs.

Although injuries and days off have kept Bay off the field for all but 41 games this season, he has still accumulated 134 at-bats, collecting 21 hits for an average of .157.  How disappointing has Bay been this season?  He's been so bad that nearly 40% of his hits came during a seven-game hitting streak from April 13-21.  Since coming off the disabled list on June 8, Bay has nine hits.  That's 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9.  And that's in 84 at-bats.

Jason Bay will probably not reach 400 at-bats, as Rob Deer did 21 years ago when he set the record for lowest batting average that was broken by Adam Dunn last year.  But he should definitely reach 200 at-bats and has an outside chance of reaching 300.  Should Bay remain under .200 at season's end, he'd be joining a club that has very few members in Mets history.

Since the Mets' inaugural season in 1962, only ten batters have hit below .200 while accumulating 200 at-bats in a season.  Those players are:

• Al Moran (1963): .193 average, 331 AB
• Choo Choo Coleman (1963): .178 average, 247 AB
• Bobby Klaus (1965): .191 average, 288 AB
• Chris Cannizzaro (1965): .183 average, 251 AB
• Jerry Grote (1967): .195 average, 344 AB
• Al Weis (1968): .172 average, 274 AB
• John Milner (1975): .191 average, 220 AB
• Doug Flynn (1977): .191 average, 282 AB
• Bud Harrelson (1977): .178 average, 269 AB
• Dave Kingman (1983): .198 average, 248 AB

Ten players.  Ten awful seasons at the plate.  But none of those ten players hit under .172.  Jason Bay is 66 at-bats away from joining this group and his batting average is only .157.  Think of it this way.  If Jason Bay hits .197 over his next 66 at-bats (which seems to be beyond him right now), his average would only climb to .170, which would still be the lowest batting average of any Met with at least 200 at-bats in a season.  He'd have to hit .288 over his next 66 at-bats just to reach an even .200.

Let's take it a bit further.  Only two players (Al Moran, Jerry Grote) failed to hit .200 in a season where they accumulated over 300 at-bats, but no one has hit under .193 with that many at-bats.  Barring injury or extensive pine time, Jason Bay has an outside chance of making it to 300 at-bats.  But he would need to hit .223 (37-for-166) just to equal Al Moran's .193 batting average for the season.

It's not your armpits, Jason.  It's you that stinks.

For nearly half a century, Al Moran has held the team record for lowest batting average in a season with a minimum of 300 at-bats.  In addition, it's been 44 years since Al Weis posted the lowest batting average for any Met with at least 200 at-bats.  Not since Dave Kingman nearly three decades ago has a Met with 200 at-bats hit under the Mendoza Line.  All that could change in 2012, courtesy of Jason Bay.

It's true that Mets fans don't dislike Bay as much as they should because he gives his best effort and hustles all the time.  But right now, his best effort is earning him a spot among the worst hitters in Mets history.  And if he doesn't turn things around soon, he's going to hustle his way to Mets infamy.  

Jason Bay used to be a good player.  Now he is the picture of futility at Citi Field.  The end of his contract can't come soon enough for this Mets fan.

Jayson's Not Werth-y Of His New Contract

Wayne and Garth wouldn't bow down to him, so why did the Nationals do so when they signed Jayson Werth to a seven-year, $126 million deal? In a recently announced deal, the 31-year-old Werth left the supercharged offense of the Phillies to become the main man in the Adam Dunn-less Nationals lineup, where he and Ryan Zimmerman will be the main power threats in a not-so-cozy ballpark.

Let's analyze this from a Mets standpoint. Prior to the 2005 season, the Mets signed Carlos Beltran to a seven-year, $119 million contract. The deal was signed after Beltran completed a phenomenal season split between the Kansas City Royals and the Houston Astros, a season in which he picked up 38 HR and 42 SB. His power/speed numbers weren't the only thing that made him so desirable.

Beltran was also a consistent run producer for Royals and Astros, scoring and driving in 100+ runs in each of the four seasons prior to his mega-deal with the Mets. Here are Beltran's numbers from 2001-2004, the four-year stretch before he became a Met:

• 2001: .306, 24 HR, 101 RBI, 106 runs, 31 SB, 120 Ks
• 2002: .273, 29 HR, 105 RBI, 114 runs, 35 SB, 135 Ks
• 2003: .307, 26 HR, 100 RBI, 102 runs, 41 SB, 81 Ks
• 2004: .267, 38 HR, 104 RBI, 121 runs, 42 SB, 101 Ks

For the four years, Beltran averaged .288, 29 HR, 102 RBI, 111 runs, 37 SB and 109 Ks. Jayson Werth became a full-time player in 2008. Let's see what he's done over the past three seasons.

• 2008: .273, 24 HR, 67 RBI, 73 runs, 20 SB, 119 Ks
• 2009: .268, 36 HR, 99 RBI, 98 runs, 20 SB, 156 Ks
• 2010: .296, 27 HR, 85 RBI, 106 runs, 13 SB, 147 Ks

In the three seasons since Werth became an everyday player for the Phillies, he has averaged .279, 29 HR, 84 RBI, 92 runs, 18 SB and 141 Ks. He has never hit .300 or driven in 100 runs over a full season. Meanwhile, Beltran hit over .300 twice in the four year period prior to being acquired by the Mets and drove in 100 runs EVERY YEAR in that time period.

Think about that. Werth, who hit in a lineup featuring Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, still couldn't pick up a 100 RBI season. Beltran was constantly driving in Kansas City Royals players. Luis Castillo could get 100 RBI on the Phillies and Jayson Werth couldn't?

How can any team pay Jayson Werth $18 million per season for what he did in that Philadelphia lineup? Do they really expect him to repeat those numbers in a bigger home ballpark with a less than star-studded cast surrounding him?

Then there's the seven years. The Mets are regretting the length of Beltran's contract now, as he has constantly been getting injured and at his age (he'll be 34 in April), he has become practically untradeable. When Werth turns 34, he will only be in the third year of his contract, which will not expire until the year he turns 38.

A 7-year, $126 million is not unprecedented in baseball. Barry Zito signed that same deal with the San Francisco Giants prior to the 2007 season. He has been nothing but a disappointment since then. One other thing about that deal - Zito was only 28 when he became a Giant.

Congratulations to the Washington Nationals for swooping in and getting Jayson Werth when no one expected them to. Let's see if they can be as fortunate when they try to trade him in a few years after realizing that they overpaid for a player who was never Werth it.

Joey's Soapbox: Mets Museum Is Coming, But Where's Cake Shack?

The Mets issued a press release yesterday stating that the Year of The Dodger is over. Next year, Citi Field will feature more Mets-centric imagery and colors. However, upon reading the press release, I noticed one thing was missing from the new additions. Astute Studious Metsimus readers should find it easy to surmise what it is.

First off, I applaud the Mets for making changes to Citi Field both inside and out. Among the new features you will find next season will be:

The VIP entrances near first base, third base and left field will be renamed after Gil Hodges, Tom Seaver and Casey Stengel, respectively.

The bridge in right field will be renamed Shea Bridge in honor of William A. Shea. I am pleased that it will not be renamed the Adam Dunn Bridge after the Washington National who claimed it as his own when he took one small poke for Dunn, one giant blast for everyone else. (In laybear's terms, he became the first player to reach the bridge with a home run.)

The stairwells will be painted in the traditional Mets colors (blue and orange, NOT black) instead of the drab gray that mirrored the feelings of the fans as they exited the stadium after each loss.

Outside Citi Field, full color banners will be visible on the Mets Plaza outside the Jackie Robinson Rotunda and the flowers planted outside the Plaza will be blue and orange.

The main addition to Citi Field in 2010 will be the Mets Hall of Fame and Museum, which will be adjacent to the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. A new Mets Hall of Fame committee, including long-time radio and TV broadcasters Gary Cohen and Howie Rose, will be formed to evaluate Mets Hall of Fame members. No player has been inducted since the late Tommie Agee in 2002.

These new additions will make Citi Field appear more like a Mets stadium and not Dodger Stadium East. That's all fine and dandy, but they seem to have forgotten one thing that this bear blogger just had to get up on his soapbox for.

WHERE IN THE NAME OF JULIO FRANCO IS CAKE SHACK?

Little Jeffy Wilpon and Omar Minaya had no problem getting cake into the tummy of Julio Franco. Why can't the fans have our cake and eat it, too?

We appreciate all you did in 2009 to make Citi Field an eater's paradise. The chicken nachos and cannolis were a welcome addition to an otherwise bland food selection at Shea Stadium. The eclectic selections would make any caterer blue and orange with envy.

If the team is going to cater to all its fans, then one more thing needs to be added. Since the team is renaming many things at Citi Field in time for the 2010 season, I'd like to offer my suggestion.

Ever since I found out about the Shake Shack that debuted at Citi Field this season, I've wanted the team to open up a Cake Shack, which would specialize in my fav'rit food. However, since I want to be known for my blogging ability and not for my penchant for wolfing down cake, I'd like to propose my idea for a new food stand, Citi Confectioneries.

Citi Confectioneries would specialize in candies, cookies and pastries. The cannolis can get special treatment there. They can also sell rainbow cookies, similar to the ones in the picture below. However, instead of the colors in the photo, they can be blue and orange surrounded by chocolatey goodness.

Holy cannolis, Batman! How hard would it be to add a Cake Shack and a Citi Confectioneries? If you can't do anything to improve the team this offseason, at least keep my sweet tooth happy. Then the fans who came to Citi Field dressed as empty seats in September can feast on something new while opposing teams feast on the Mets.

I don't expect any of this to happen at Citi Field next season, but perhaps if our readers could start a petition, it could become a reality eventually. I'd make my voice heard, but it would be rude to talk with my mouth full.